


Follow You

by bitter_sweet_coffee



Series: Everyone in Sonic the Hedgehog is gay and needs Emotional Support [1]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Almost A Songfic, Cliche, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Gen, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Quarantine fanfic, Road Trips, Running Away, Self-Indulgent, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, This probably needs more tags, Trans Jet the Hawk, Trans Rouge the Bat, everyone is a little gay, everyone is at least slightly neurodivergent because I project oops, please be nice to me, shadow has a saviour complex, slightly OOC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:00:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 33,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25046521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitter_sweet_coffee/pseuds/bitter_sweet_coffee
Summary: “You know he won’t talk to me, he won’t talk to anyone. Except you. I don’t know why he’s so adamant about only opening up to you out of all his friends, but it’s clearly something he needs. You promised Shadow, don’t get yourself killed trying to be a hero for the wrong person.”In which Shadow has a saviour complex, and bites off more than he can chew. Many bad decisions follow, and he ends up growing a little too dependent on the jackal who tried to kill him not so long ago. Oh well, at least Sonic’s doing okay... right?
Relationships: Amy Rose/Sonic the Hedgehog, Espio the Chameleon/Wave the Swallow, Infinite/Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna/Rouge the Bat, Rouge the Bat & Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog & Infinite, Shadow the Hedgehog & Sonic the Hedgehog, Vanilla the Rabbit/Vector the Crocodile
Series: Everyone in Sonic the Hedgehog is gay and needs Emotional Support [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813981
Comments: 51
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 0: Follow You, Bring Me The Horizon

Not to lead anyone on or disappoint you, but this isn’t a real chapter! However, it does contain some very important information and clarifications before you read, so it’s still worth skimming at the very least. I’m already anticipating a lot of questions so I’ll try to answer the ones I predict here! However, feel free to comment throughout the fic and I’ll address additional questions in the chapter notes. 

1\. Rarepairs

I know my ships are weird. Rare pairs and crack ships are my guilty pleasure, and I don’t plan on changing that. That being said, I’m also a multi shipper who will support any ship as long as it is legal and doesn’t romanticize abuse! If you want a separate fic with your OTP I will definitely write requests, but for obvious reasons I can’t give you every possible ship just in this fic. Also….

  1. NSFW (or a lack thereof)



I DON’T WRITE SMUT! I joke about being a furry but I’m not, and the last thing I want to imagine are anthropomorphic animals doing the dinky deed. This is important because most of my fics have weird inter-species relationships that would be horrible as nsfw! Does the world really need a graphic description of Vector and Vanilla getting freaky in the detective agency? NO, it does not and nobody should even consider writing that. I think the Sonic fandom is sexualized way too much, so you aren’t reading the right fic if you want that kind of stuff. Sorry. I may allude to sex at best, but it makes me feel uncomfortable because they’re animals and that’s gross. 

  1. OCs



I don’t like using OCs. I have some minor ones like motel owners and pedestrians, and I need to create some jackal personas for *spoiler* when Infinite returns back home for certain reasons, but I generally hate having to include my own characters in fics. This is nothing against people who have OCs, I don’t have the right to discredit someone else’s characters! However, besides Tamar (Infinite’s sister who is unavoidable to write, sorry) and filler characters, don’t expect any OCs.

  1. OC Cameos



On that note, if you want your OC(s) to be a background character, let me know! Keep in mind they won’t be written about for more than a few sentences, but it’s a small thank you and an acknowledgement to my readers that I would love to include in my fic! I have to write in background characters anyways, so a nod to a beloved reader is okay with me despite my distaste for plot-centric fan characters. 

  1. Upload Schedule



It might be good to know that I don’t write my chapters in order, so I can’t exactly give you an update schedule. I also have fic abandonment issues so you really have to comment and read to motivate me because I’m lazy and have zero confidence! It sounds needy (because it is) but it speaks volumes for the snail pace uploads you are about to encounter. Also, I’ve written like 3ish chapters already but they’re in the middle/end of the fic hence why this non-chapter exists, but I might start writing the first chapter soon!

  1. Song-fic(?) & Playlist



This is somewhat of a song fic! I probably won’t include lyrics unless I snatch one to use for dialogue, but each chapter will have at least one song that inspired it! I have a playlist but since I don’t write chronologically, it’s not going to be made public yet (at the time of writing this). However, I will definitely be sharing that shit on Apple Music and Spotify asap! 

  1. Georgia, Baby!



The jackal culture is something I made up entirely, and since I’m from Georgia I decided to make their official language Georgian, and draw on bits of Georgian culture to add some flavour. I think the country is very underrepresented so I’m using its alienated and interesting circumstances as a base for the jackals, but there’s a _slight_ problem! I hardly speak Georgian. I’m doing my best with what I know but if by some miracle someone reading this speaks Georgian…. PLEASE LEND ME A HAND! MESSAGE ME ASAP! I could _really_ use a Georgian ghostreader, but considering how rare that would be to find, can everyone at least not make fun of my awful Georgian? Most of it is just Georgian names and occasional untranslated words (which I will translate in the end notes for non-speakers) but my grammar probably sucks. Sorry in advance I guess? 

  1. Extended Universe



I have many spin-off fics planned that focus on other characters, so if you like my take on the Sonic universe let me know who you want the next fic to be focused on! I can try and write multiple fics at once to give me options and make me feel less trapped into one set storyline, but I can’t promise fast results for any work considering I have two jobs and am taking summer school; I’m not busy, just emotionally drained if you know what I mean?

  1. LGBTQ+



I’m not here to debate the lgbtq+ representation in my fics. Not everyone has to be straight! At the same time, there is a lot of fetishization of mlm and wlw relationships which I hate, and don’t even get me started on trans narratives because in my opinion, so many of them are written poorly. **BEING A PART OF THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY IS NOT A PERSONALITY TRAIT!** You can write about the hardships and low moments because they do exist, but don’t make an entire character revolve around their gender or sexuality. Write them three dimensionally just as you would with any cishet character.

  1. Characterization



My take on the characters isn’t fandom typical. Shadow in particular is more talkative because I based his personality on the SA2-06 era which was basically just an introverted Sonic with PTSD. So as of Forces… just an introverted Sonic. F in the chat for our blue boy! He’s not your typical edgy hedgy, but I personally don’t consider Shadow OOC by any means. Still, if you want me to write like the new Sonic writers, you’re going to be disappointed because I refuse to stoop to that level! He’s allowed to smile and have friends, no matter what SEGA might be trying to say. Also, things are going to be awkward and maybe even memey for 90% of the fic! This is partially because I don’t take myself seriously as a writer, and also because I think realistic slow-burn needs to be awkward, especially when it’s enemies to friends to lovers. 

ART

Okay, this has two parts. One, if you also like drawing and feel like making something based off this fic, please do it! If I have your permission I'll post it under this heading right here, and as long as you credit my fic as inspo you can post anywhere you want :)

Here's a doodle I made when I didn't have wifi; It's kinda spoilery since it's my redesign that's only completed at the end of the fic though, so be warned!

Aight, I wish you all well and hope to see you in the near future with a new chapter!

-Izzie <3


	2. Chapter 1: Irvine, Kelly Clarkson

  1. Irvine, Kelly Clarkson



Infinite knew he was dying, and no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that this was what he wanted, the jackal knew he had fucked up big time by agreeing to become Robotnik’s lab rat. Every cell in his body was crying out for help as he burned at the mercy of the corrupted ruby. 

Searing pain filled his vision with radiant darkness, and he knew there was no way out of the corner he backed himself into. His veins were frozen, and the jackal could feel his blood simmer as it coursed through his body. Everything was cold, and all he could do was lay down on his side and heave out his organs, surrounded by his vomit and blood.

When a familiar figure approached, he choked on his own excrement and laughed weakly. “Come to kick my skull in and speed up the process?” Infinite asked, but couldn’t stop his body from flinching away when Shadow stopped in front of him.

He was submissive as he pleaded for death, how pathetic. 

The hedgehog didn’t say anything, but watched wordlessly as the jackal curled in on himself, his breathing jagged. Infinite scowled at the lack of response, and let a primitive growl escape his lips before spitting blood at his enemy.

Shadow seemed unphased, and sat in front of the jackal, legs crossed. “You seem to be accepting of your fate, so why is there fear in your eyes?” he asked, voice unnaturally loud and omniscient, as if it were coming from above and not from the figure who spoke. 

“I don’t fucking know, why are you suddenly so concerned with my wellbeing?” Infinite snapped back, before his body racked with coughs, shuddering from the unexpected question.

The hedgehog watched emotionlessly as the phantom ruby took back the power it lent its host, a hasty loan which could never truly be repaid, even in death. 

“I’m not.” 

Infinite flinched at the words, eyes watering with pent up rage. “You came all the way here to tell me this? How pathetic is your life that you need to seek comfort in my own demise to sleep at night?” he shot back, cursing at his wavering tone as his face grew hot with tears and embarrassment. 

Shadow shrugged, before turning away to leave. The jackal felt that wretched emotion again,  _ fear _ , and clawed out after the mobian in vain. “Come back here, you never answered!” he called, but the ebony hedgehog had already faded away into the horizon. 

He was alone again. 

“You did this to me, you fucking ruined me, come back here and watch the light leave my eyes,  _ mshishara _ ,” he cried, gasping when he slipped into his dead tongue. It reminded him of where he came from, and how far gone he was now. 

Infinite dug his nails into the ground as he let out a raspy sob, retching from the amount of pain he felt.  _ You did this to yourself _ , he remembered, which only prompted him to cry harder. 

He looked back up where the hedgehog once stood, and the jackal could have sworn Shadow was still looming over him, watching him.  _ Judging him. _

“Don’t leave… you’re the only one who remembers my face for what it is. You killed the others, and now I’m about to join them. At least enjoy your victory,” Infinite pleaded, looking for any reason to justify not dying alone. 

“If you were so adamant about people watching you die, why did you teleport away from the battlefield?” The voice returned, which made the jackal jolt backwards, cursing when he tripped over his own limbs. He was panting from the movement only to find out that Shadow had reappeared behind him, facing away from Infinite to instead observe the overcast sky. 

The jackal eyed the figure, beginning to lose faith in his own reality. “I didn’t mean to, the phantom ruby did that,” he admitted, but didn’t believe his own lie. They both knew it was fear that drove him away.

Shadow just laughed in response, what once started as a deep chuckle now a booming, echoing laugh that made the jackal’s ears snap flat to his head, sending chills up his spine. He opened his mouth to interject, but the hedgehog stopped immediately, neck snapping around to stare him right in the eyes without a word, emerald eyes boring into mismatched ones.

The sudden silence and unnatural movement caused the jackal to panic, instinctively clawing at the figure. However, his horror increased substantially when his hand phased right through Shadow. 

He was the one fading away, and there was no way to hold him down in the real world. Not even Shadow would be able to save him this time. 

“What’s happening to me?” Infinite asked quietly, his breathing shallow. The hedgehog didn’t reply, but this time it was because he didn’t have an answer. 

Shadow walked over and tentatively placed a hand on the jackal’s shoulder. For a brief moment, it almost felt like real contact. “I’m sure he’ll figure something out. He always does,” the hedgehog reassured. 

Infinite scrunched his nose at the strange comment, and looked over to ask Shadow what he meant, but came to realize he was actually alone this time. 

“If you’re still here… please.  _ Kaosi _ , anything, I promise I’ll be better this time. Imprison me, rip this thing from my chest, kill me later after you get your answers. Just please… not this. Don’t stoop to my level, don’t be as bad as I’d be. Make me pay for what I did but for fuck’s sake,  _ keep me alive _ ,” he choked out, holding his breath in anticipation. 

But nobody came. And nobody would come, because that’s what happens when you don’t let anyone into your life. When you die, there’s no one around to mourn a person who hardly lived.

Infinite cried quietly in defeat, no longer resisting the ruby’s wishes. The icy sweat he was coated in stung his open wounds, and he prayed that at least the gem would hurry up and end this already.

And then he saw red. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Georgian Words:
> 
> mshishara- Coward  
> Kaosi- chaos
> 
> I'm sorry this is such a short chapter! I promise the other ones I wrote are a couple thousands words and much better, I just struggle with writing beginnings and this is precisely why I don't write in chronological order. I might actually have a second chapter up soon because I'm drawing it from a dialogue exercise I did a while ago, but don't get too excited with these uploads because it's downhill from here babey!
> 
> If some things seem off here... good. Not telling you why for obvious reasons, but some die-hard fans might be able to guess my C-Plot because I'm bad at being subtle. It's get spicier as we move along, this is just a really sad chapter and I'm not good with emotions that don't revolve around being a chaotic bastard!
> 
> Wishing everyone well,
> 
> Izzie <3


	3. Chapter 2: Talk, Coldplay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry this took so long to upload, I got very nitpicky when editing before giving up. It doesn't have to be perfect anyways, this is just for fun :)
> 
> Still, if anyone wants to be a ghostreader let me know! You can edit the hell out of stuff, this is especially recommended for picky readers (because I'm picky too!)
> 
> Without further ado... here is chapter 2!

  1. Talk, Coldplay



It hadn’t even been a week and the resistance was already celebrating the defeat of Eggman and Infinite. Although everyone knew there was a lot of restoration work to do, Amy had suggested a small get-together, and nobody had the willpower to resist a potluck if the pink hedgehog was involved with the catering. 

They all agreed on a picnic-esque party outside of Central City, in order to avoid excess attention from the public. It was also nice to be in nature again, since many members had been stuck inside the stale headquarters for so long. 

Knuckles was currently being pestered by Rouge, who had missed the echidna a great deal when working as a double agent. Of course she wouldn’t admit this outright, but became much clingier than before when bothering the red mobian. 

“Come on Knuckie, you can’t leave before _dessert_ ,” she whined teasingly, leaning onto his arm and batting her eyelashes, which made the echidna turn away, flustered. He had been trying to return to Angel Island for the past 3 days, but was stopped every time by the bat. 

Knuckles halfheartedly shrugged her off and muttered something about the master emerald, which only made Rouge laugh. “I’m not big on sweets anyways, but I might steal some of yours,” he admitted gruffly, the small smile on his face inevitable. 

“Can you two get a room? I miss the war just because it managed to keep your hands off each other! My poor baby eyes, thieved of their childhood innocence,” Charmy complained, wrinkling his nose at the unnecessary amount of PDA he was witnessing. 

Vector whacked the bee with his tail, motioning him to continue writing notes. The crocodile had been asking Vanilla for recipes, and entrusted Charmy with the task of transcribing: a horrible decision really, but it’s not like he had any other options. 

“You can’t just track off in the middle of a lemon meringue pie recipe, we can’t afford to waste citrus! That stuff is expensive,” he scolded, before turning back to Vanilla with a bashful apology. She found the whole ordeal amusing, and couldn’t resist giggling at their collective nonexistent attention span. 

The rabbit calmed down before smiling and looking away, “Would it be easier if we tried baking together first? I have a feeling you’re a hands on learner, and I certainly don’t mind the extra treats,” she offered, blushing lightly. Vector choked at the directness and scratched the back of his head, also looking away. “That would be really helpful, thank you Miss Vanilla,” he said, which prompted the rabbit to laugh again. 

“Why don’t you just google a recipe?” Cream asked skeptically, but she couldn’t resist smiling as well. The young rabbit had nothing against the detectives, and enjoyed spending time with them. Still, she was protective of her mother and couldn’t resist dragging such an easy victim like Vector. 

Vector laughed at the girl’s wit and glanced over at Espio, who was sitting under the picnic table on his phone, expression guarded. “This chump already used up all our data, and doesn’t plan on telling me why. Apparently he’s talking to a client, but I don’t believe it,” the crocodile explained. 

Espio was oblivious to the fact the group was staring at him, and continued to type furiously. He was often too busy in the resistance to enjoy his free time, and was overindulging to make up for the lack of freedom he had before. Even ninjas need their me time, and Espio was simply balancing his chakras by gluing himself to his phone screen. 

“I bet he’s writing fanfiction,” Charmy commented, before staring off into the distance and making a strange expression. 

Cream frowned, and tried to follow the bee’s gaze, “Where are you looking Charmy?”

He shrugged, before glancing back at the rabbit girl. “I was looking into the camera like on that one show, but I guess the joke is outdated and overused so it isn’t working,” Charmy admitted sheepishly, before flying back to Rouge and Knuckles, making dry commentary on their every action. 

“Watch it Charmy!” Amy yelped as the bee flew over her and Silver, distracting the both of them from setting up the dessert table and nearly resulting in a great loss of treats. 

The telekinetic rolled his eyes, and carefully set what he was carrying down on the table, only for Amy to move everything around herself. “Is there anything else I can do?” he offered in vain, knowing the pink hedgehog would probably try and do everything alone again. The two were good friends, but were starting to get cabin fever after being stuck at headquarters together for so long. 

Amy looked over, and sensed the tension from the “technically younger” hedgehog. “Do you want to help me frost the icebox cake?” She offered, which made Silver’s ears perk up, before flattening. 

“I wouldn’t want to mess it up, don’t worry about it!” he said quickly, but the girl was already pulling him over to the cake. She guided his hands carefully to the piping bag, which embarrassed Silver to no ends. 

Amy giggled and told him to calm down, before explaining how to create the effect she wanted. “This is a meringue frosting, so we want to ice the cake last minute because the heat will melt everything. For the icebox cake, you want it to look messy but keep it evenly spread, that way everyone gets the same amount of frosting! Does that make sense?” she explained while slabbing the fluffy substance on the cake. 

Silver was hesitant but slowly got comfortable with the spreading motion, which made Amy beam for being a good teacher. “This is actually kind of fun, and I didn’t mess up yet!” he exclaimed, which made the two laugh. Both hedgehogs were relieved to not be at each other’s throats for once, the absence of impending doom doing wonders for their friendship. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So you’re telling me all I had to do was resolder the connections?” Tails asked, judging the snarkiness of the robot in question. 

Omega stared at the fox for a moment before replying, almost as if he were amused by the situation. “AFFIRMATIVE. THEN TURN MY POWER OFF AND BACK ON AGAIN.” he explained, which made Shadow snicker from aside. 

“That’s it? But I worked on your repairs for months, I tried everything! There’s no way I overlooked such an easy fix,” Tails said defensively, but he was more embarrassed by how he overcomplicated the problem.

“IT WAS NOT AN EASY REPAIR, JUST A STRAIGHTFORWARD ONE.” Omega clarified, which didn’t comfort the fox by any means. Tails eyed the robot and cocked his head, now curious as to who would know how to fix a complex panel like Omega’s.

“Who restored you? It wouldn’t have been Eggman, and it wasn’t me. You just showed up to the battle perfectly fine without any explanation…”

Omega noticeably tensed (despite already being rigid since he is made of metal) and turned away, heading destructively towards the dessert table, which was beginning to scare Amy. “THAT IS CLASSIFIED INFORMATION WHICH IS PASSWORD ENCRYPTED. I CANNOT DISCLOSE MY SOURCES.”

Tails looked over at Shadow, eyes begging for some kind of clarity. The hedgehog however, had nothing prepared to say and shrugged in response. 

“Beats me, Omega doesn’t tell me anything anymore,” he admitted before eyeing the blue hedgehog, who was currently avoiding all forms of confrontation. Tails looked over as well and frowned at the unusual behaviour, “he’s been like this since he got back.”

Shadow sighed, watching silently as Sonic quietly slipped away from the party and took off towards the greenery. Rouge’s ears twitched at the subtle sound the hedgehog made when leaving, and stopped mid sentence to make eye contact with Shadow, who had already instinctively looked to the bat. 

_“Follow him,”_ her expression read, in perfect unison with what the fox beside Shadow had said out loud. He nodded to Rouge before looking over to Tails, who appeared just as worried. However, neither said another word and instead watched the trail of blue light that was already fading. 

Sonic ran as soon as he figured he was out of everyone's sight, and didn’t bother looking back. He felt like he was suffocating with all the noises: music, chatter, forks scratching plates, everything down to the tiniest sound. He just needed to get away, letting out a sigh of relief when he stopped at his favourite spot outside Central City. 

The hedgehog watched the sun set atop a hill that overlooked the forest, the tips of skyscrapers peeking over the canopy from the distant city. He could still hear the chatter and celebration that he ran away from, but the gentle rustling of the tree above him muffled enough of the noise to ease his nerves. After being alone for so long, he found himself unable to tolerate being in groups, which made him feel guilty. These were his friends, not strangers or villains. Still… Sonic felt tense around them and needed his own space for a while.

Despite the boundaries he just established, Sonic was pleasantly surprised when Shadow decided to join him, neither of them breaking the silence. If it were anyone else, the blue hedgehog may have complained, but Shadow was quiet by default so it wasn’t too overwhelming. 

He contemplated not saying anything at all, but eventually decided to greet the ebony hedgehog, “Long time no see dude, what’s up?”

“I was just with you,” Shadow deadpanned, looking over at him unamused. Sonic grinned sheepishly, running a hand through his quills. “Fair point, but don’t be so harsh about it! After all, you were the one who followed me here,” he reminded.

The other hedgehog chewed on his lip before responding, “I honestly came to admire the view,” he said, looking out at the horizon. Sonic smirked, before stretching coyly, one eye open to glance over at Shadow.

“Well, how do I look?”

The hedgehog narrowed his eyes, “I meant the sky, dicknips. Your quills are atrocious for the record though.” Sonic huffed at the reply, crossing his arms. “I was in a jail cell for 6 months, cut me some slack! I think I look ruggedly handsome,” he defended, before sitting down and leaning against the tree trunk. 

Shadow chuckled softly at the younger hedgehog’s response, and found himself sitting down as well, which was a surprise for both of them. After a beat of silence, Sonic felt the other’s gaze on him, which made him uncomfortable. Since he had returned, all anyone did was stare at him, and it was getting annoying. However, Shadow looked like he was figuring out what he wanted to say, mouth pressed shut in a thin line but eyes clouded in thought. After enough internal debate, he looked back down, away from Sonic. 

“We’re friends, right?” He asked softly, and the blue hedgehog was taken aback by the weight of the words. Sonic knew that this would probably lead to a deep, emotional conversation that he was not too keen on having, and decided to divert from this path as much as possible. 

“Oh, _now_ you’re admitting it! Are you actually saying we’re friends now, after all this time brooding and playing hard-to-get?” He teased, nudging Shadow’s foot with his own. The hedgehog smirked at the response, but the amusement didn’t reach his eyes. Shadow knew this was the other’s way of saying yes, but noted Sonic’s deflection, and anticipated what this would mean for his intended conversation. 

The blue hedgehog eyed Shadow and smiled guiltily, feeling like his teasing was perhaps too insensitive and that he jumped to conclusions. For all Sonic knew, this may not even be about him. 

“You’re thinking, aren’t you?” He tried again, this time with less attitude. Shadow rolled his eyes and looked over, “No shit. Maybe you could learn a thing or two and do the same.” 

Sonic wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, as it seemed like a well crafted statement the ebony hedgehog was trying to withhold. Once the tension settled, the blue hedgehog found himself prying again. “What are you thinking about?” He rephrased, digging the heel of his left shoe into the ground. 

Shadow was quiet for a moment before responding, “The ARK. Mostly Maria, but also everything that led up to what happened 50 years ago,” he replied, voice calm but melancholy. 

“Is that all you think about?” Sonic asked, looking over at the hedgehog quickly before choosing to stare at his own hands, fidgeting. He didn’t mean to sound judgmental, but he knew what he said came out entirely wrong, and that he probably sounded like a prick. Shadow didn’t seem to mind though, and shrugged.

“No, but those memories aren’t the type to just go away. That’s the thing with trauma, you can’t just brush everything off and make all your problems disappear,” he said, maybe being too direct with what was troubling him. 

Thankfully, Sonic didn’t catch on and attempted to respond optimistically. “I know, and I don’t want you to forget everything again. Still, you could focus on making good memories to outweigh the bad ones from before! Enjoy things in the moment, like how the Sun is setting and we get to watch it,” he offered with his signature smile. 

Despite the good intentions of the blue hedgehog, Shadow was unphased by the cookie-cutter response and scowled. “Sometimes it’s hard to enjoy things knowing so many innocent lives were slaughtered, just for me to be on this planet right now,” he shot back. 

Sonic’s smile faded as he took in every word Shadow said, before looking away and letting the tense atmosphere remain in uncomfortable silence. He rarely stayed quiet for very long, but the blue hedgehog didn’t have anything to say to that. 

Realizing he walked them into a dead end, Shadow sighed, before attempting to ease the awkwardness; “You’re right though, about moving on. I do need to start enjoying things in the present, instead of relying on nostalgia. If I’m being honest, I’ve been trying to develop a more positive outlook on life, and things are looking a bit better for me,” he recovered, which earned him a hesitant smile from Sonic who was now looking back over, captivated by Shadow’s confession. 

“I’m really glad to hear that Shads, I knew you had it in you,” Sonic said, and the two enjoyed the pleasant moment of genuine conversation. Shadow smiled at the acknowledgment and turned away to grab a stick that was on the ground beside him, tracing it through the grass to distract from the emotional honesty.

Sonic held back a laugh at the ebony hedgehog’s embarrassment, and decided to take advantage of the transparency. “If you don’t mind me asking, what led you to acceptance? You were fighting so hard to get your memories back and know the truth, and now you’ve decided to put it all behind you?” 

“I’ll never have all the answers, and I’ll never know the full truth. I have to accept that my amnesia can’t be cured in one shot, and nobody else who is living has the answers I’m looking for,” he admitted. 

Sonic watched as the other hedgehog twirled the stick through the grass, before running it along the roots of the tree that stuck out of the ground. “That could be just it,” he started, which made Shadow look up into Sonic’s eyes. “You might need to stop caring so much in order for everything to be restored,” he continued, which earned him a small smile in response. 

“Mmm… yeah. But I won’t get my hopes up.” Shadow said, before resuming his mindless tracing.

The blue hedgehog hesitated before asking his next question, hoping it wouldn’t be too heavy of an answer; “Would you forget all the bad stuff if you could?”

Shadow tensed, “No,” he responded too quickly, before sighing. “Never. Even if I were to lose all my memories, the emotions connected to my experience would stay. I just simply wouldn’t have an explanation for how I felt, and no way to rationalize why certain things trigger me,” he elaborated. Sonic noticed the hasty recovery, but figured it wasn’t something he should pry into. The hedgehog had only been conscious for about a year since his reawakening, and there was no rush to recover from his trauma. 

“So what you’re saying is… ignorance _isn’t_ bliss?” Sonic asked jokingly, but the question was genuine. This conversation had gotten too personal for both of them, and he was trying to change the tone and conversation before the focus was on him. 

Shadow was not oblivious to this, and decided to do what he came here to do. “Not in the slightest. You can only run so far from yourself,” he admitted, but the generic use of “you” felt like a direct attack on the blue hedgehog. 

“Why are you telling me all of this? It’s out of character,” he asked, laughing nervously. 

“How do you know what’s ‘like me’ and what isn’t?” Shadow responded, maybe a bit too harshly. Sonic continued to dig his heels into the ground, the backs of his shoes now coated in dirt. “I dunno, we don’t really talk like this ever, so it’s new for me,” he said quietly, gazing down. 

Shadow faltered at that, and took a moment to recompose himself before continuing. “I figured at least one of us had to be honest about our feelings, and you don’t seem too adamant on being the first volunteer,” he said. 

“Are you calling me a chicken, Shads? I’m an open book, you can ask me anything!” Sonic exclaimed, forcing a smile. He tried not to sound offended, but there was a certain edge to his tone that gave it away. Shadow didn’t respond and started to get up. He had tried, and the blue hedgehog clearly wasn’t ready to open up yet. 

“Ask me, Shadow. I know that’s why you came here,” Sonic said darkly, and the hedgehog froze in place where he stood. “I just want to know if you’re okay,” Shadow admitted quietly, the wind almost drowning his words out completely. 

The silence that followed was deafening. Sonic was caught off guard and left speechless, and Shadow was in shock from how bluntly he had admitted his motive. This would be the moment of truth, determining if he blew it or not. 

Sonic finally opened his mouth to respond, and frowned at how his voice wavered against his will. “Yeah, I’m doing okay! I’m a bit tired from the battle, but so is everyone else. Amy was really pushing this picnic as a celebration, and I’m glad we’re having it. I just needed some quiet time, y’know?” he said with his usual pep, hoping the cheeriness would throw Shadow off. 

It did no such thing. 

“Don’t lie to me,” he said, tone bitter but sympathetic. Sonic didn’t want any pity, and promptly told Shadow that he was doing no such thing. 

Both hedgehogs were beginning to get frustrated with one another, but the darker one was not giving up so easily. “You think I don’t know better? That I’m naive? You say we aren’t close and you’re right, we aren’t. But even then I can tell you’re holding back,” he retorted. 

Sonic scowled, “You know me, I never hold back!” He joked humourlessly. “You also never stop to give yourself time to process your emotions,” Shadow responded quickly, cursing at how aggressive this conversation was getting. 

“I’m not doing much right now, am I?”

“Exactly, now tell me what’s wrong,” Shadow concluded, and the blue hedgehog’s jaw snapped shut. After enough silence and internal debate, he sighed, getting up and shaking his head. “You know, you can be a real pain in the ass, Shadow. I’m just tired, and now I’m annoyed, but otherwise okay.” 

The ebony hedgehog watched as Sonic began to walk away, flinching at the absence of his nickname; He was going to regret what he was about to confess. 

“I’ve seen the footage of your imprisonment… and what he did to you,” he blurted out, before cursing and quickly looking away. Shadow couldn’t look up to see how the hedgehog would react, he knew it would break both of them immediately if they were to make eye contact.

“...What?” Sonic asked weakly, the colour drained from his face. He refused to turn back around and face Shadow, there was no way in hell he could look him in the eyes now. 

Shadow faltered, pissed at himself for saying too much too soon. “I was the one assigned to keeping tabs on you, G.U.N. hacked into the security cameras thanks to Rouge’s inside access. Only we know… I didn’t tell the government anything. I’m sorry,” he said, ears lowered. 

Sonic was still silent, and had no intention to respond to what he was hearing. 

“You can’t just not acknowledge what happened, Sonic.”

That struck a chord. Shadow never said his name, unless it was serious. Just the way he said it, so _gently_ , like he was made of glass or something. It frustrated the blue hedgehog but he felt no anger, just a tightness in his chest that made him feel like he was drowning. 

“Can we just watch the sunset?” he asked weakly, wincing when his voice cracked. _No_ , he wouldn’t break. Not now, and certainly not here when all his friends were so close.

“Yeah, we can. I’m glad we can enjoy this together,” Shadow answered hesitantly, before walking up to Sonic to stand beside him instead. 

Neither looked over at the other, both fixating on the small apricot of light that was almost entirely behind the skyscrapers downtown. 

“It wasn’t as bad as it looked, I swear,” Sonic finally said, now in control of the strength of his voice. It was perhaps too strong to be genuine, but it kept him off the verge of tears so he wasn’t going to test his luck and try to sound calm. 

Shadow hummed, before looking over. “I’ll be completely honest, I don’t believe you,” he started, which earned him a subtle glare from the blue hedgehog. “However,” he continued, making Sonic’s ear twitch, “I won’t continue to pry, okay? I’m always here to listen, if you ever need me. Call me, text me, we can even go out for chill dogs despite how disgusting I find them. If you need to talk to someone, I’m always available,” he offered gently, which only frustrated the hedgehog. 

“Thanks, but I’ll pass,” Sonic replied passive aggressively, which made the ebony hedgehog sigh. “It’s only because I know your pain firsthand, I doubt any of your other friends would know how it feels when—“ Shadow started, but was promptly cut off. 

“I’m _not in pain_ , how many times do I have to repeat myself? I’m fine, Shadow.” Sonic snapped, and the hedgehog in question finally accepted defeat. He had extended an olive branch, and was getting zero cooperation. 

Shadow sat in the tension for a minute or so, debating what to say next. “I’m sorry for pushing you so much. If you say you’re fine, you are. If you aren’t but don’t want to talk about it, I respect your wishes. My offer still stands, but I won’t force you to do anything against your will,” he apologized, looking down at his shoes. The paint was beginning to chip off the front, he’d have to get them repainted. It should have been done ages ago, but he was hasty about letting people modify his shoes. 

“Thank you… I’m sorry for snapping. I’ll call you if I need anything,” Sonic admitted shyly, nudging Shadow so he’d meet his gaze. 

The ebony hedgehog smiled genuinely, before smirking. “Want to race back for dessert?” He offered, and soon Sonic was grinning from ear to ear. 

“Yeah I do buddy... yeah I do. Just try not to eat too much dirt on the way, Amy makes a kick-ass strawberry shortcake and I wouldn’t want you missing out on it!” the blue hedgehog taunted before speeding away. 

Shadow shook his head and laughed in relief, before following after Sonic. He had made some sort of progress today, and that’s all that mattered to him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was more satisfying than the extremely short first chapter, I felt really guilty leaving you guys with hardly any content! I promise most chapters should be about this long, but to be fair a lot of this chapter was secondary character interactions. I felt bad when I cut some background interactions out because readers probably have faves that aren't the main focus of this fic, so I gave them a little feature :)
> 
> I have no idea when the next chapter will be up (I have it planned but not started) so I hope I can get that up for everyone ASAP!
> 
> Wishing you all well,
> 
> Izzie <3


	4. Chapter 3: Medicine, Daughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to start by saying am so sorry everyone, I've hardly posted anything and there's still so much left to write! I've been putting more time into my chapter outline which I have been working on for months admittedly, and forgot that I also had to write/edit/post chapters in the meantime.
> 
> I'm also still in school (I'm taking courses all year round so I can finish my undergrad a year early) and have been neglecting a lot of homework in order to get this fanfic sorted, and I'm nowhere close to doing that either! This chapter is very short and too messy for my taste, but I'm hoping it will help pass the time. Just the outline for the next two chapters is 4K words, nevermind when I actually write it!
> 
> TLDR; I'm sorry for being bad at updating, and this chapter also sucks but it's the best I can do right now. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy!

Medicine, Daughter:

Shadow had been wandering aimlessly around Eggman’s fortress for hours, hoping he’d conveniently run into the missing jackal. Infinite was still a potential threat, and nobody had bothered to locate him, so naturally Shadow was drawn to the task.

“Shadow, we don’t know if the phantom ruby prototype still functions, I don’t want you to get trapped like last time,” Rouge had warned him.

The hedgehog didn’t care much for precautions though, and had made it his personal mission to track Infinite down and decide his fate. 

“I’ll be fine Rouge, if the Rookie and their “power of friendship” can defeat him in his prime, I’ll have no problems kicking his ass again.” Still, he knew the bat was worried about him because she cared for his safety, and that he couldn’t run away without a regard for his own safety anymore, because there were now others who relied on him.

Sonic was now a part of this select group, and Shadow found himself faltering when the blue hedgehog crossed his mind, guilt overtaking him because here he was, running away again; Chaos forbid he settled down and took care of his friends. 

“And now you’re off to save the guy who tortured him, how considerate,” an ominous voice drawled sadistically. Shadow flinched at the narration, and decided it was getting too late for a recovery mission. He was practically shrouded in pitch black darkness, as most of Robotnik’s territory consisted of destroyed bases, which offered limited light.

Just as he was about to turn back, Shadow swore he heard screaming. So, as any sane mobian would do, he followed the yelling to its source.

“You did this to me, you fucking ruined me, come back here and watch the light leave my eyes, mshishara,” the voice rasped out, and Shadow nearly celebrated at his discovery, for he had located Infinite on his first attempt, all because the jackal appeared to be talking to himself.

As he watched him writhe and curse at no one in particular, Shadow’s smirk slowly faded, realizing that Infinite was most likely hallucinating a conversation with a version of him. Who else would he be cursing at? It had to be Shadow he was seeing, the jackal probably hated no one more than him. 

He was dying, and his last words would be spoken in vain, because there was nobody there to hear them.

“Well,” Shadow thought to himself hesitantly, “There is me, I’m here. I’m just not doing anything to inform him that he’s talking to thin air.”

The hedgehog fidgeted with his inhibitor rings, a nervous tic he had developed since the Black Arms paradox. Still, he refused to reveal himself to the jackal since there was probably nothing Shadow could do to help him, nor would Infinite allow him to help.

That is at least, what Shadow thought, until he heard the jackal fully break. 

“If you’re still here… please. Kaosi, anything, I promise I’ll be better this time. Imprison me, rip this thing from my chest, kill me later after you get your answers. Just please… not this. Don’t stoop to my level, don’t be as bad as I’d be. Make me pay for what I did but for fuck’s sake, keep me alive,” Infinite begged, pausing in anticipation.

He froze. Infinite was, quite literally, begging for his life. His pride was gone, and there was no arrogance to mask his fear, which was bone chilling for Shadow. He had his own egotistical tendencies and knew this was probably something that should be taken seriously, but he couldn’t force his legs to move. 

“I mean, yeah dude, he’s dying. This was your fault, remember? Go fix it,” the voice reminded, and Shadow found himself listening.

He knelt over the jackal’s writhing body, careful to avoid the mess he had made, and held his face up to meet his gaze.

“Infinite… are you still with me? Don’t fade yet, I’m here.” Shadow said quietly, frowning at the quiver in his voice. Infinite stayed rigid, as if he was struggling to process what the hedgehog was saying.

The jackal didn’t respond, but began to realize he was being touched, and it was real this time.

He wasn’t fading, he was never fading. He was here, in reality. For now, at least. 

Shadow was beginning to worry at the lack of response, and sat Infinite up. When the jackal didn’t react to that either, the hedgehog pushed off his mask to make sure he hadn’t died. His vitals are weak, the voice reminded him.

Infinite stared blankly up at Shadow, but was still alive, breath shallow. 

“I just need to know, since we’ve reached this point... did you really kill them all?” he asked weakly, the subtle defeat in his tone of voice worrying Shadow. He frowned at the question, not quite following the ambiguous pronoun game.

“Kill who?”

The jackal snarled, and shifted to sit up more comfortably, crossing his legs to steady himself so he could look Shadow in the eyes. He took pride in knowing the hedgehog suddenly appeared to care about his well being, finally at peace with dying if it meant Shadow would remember him. 

“My squad, or did you forget them too? When you destroyed that base, did you really kill every single one of them?”

Shadow’s eyes widened, the realization dawning on him. “This couldn’t have been why he…” the hedgehog thought, shuddering at the mere idea that the most basic form of miscommunication led to an entire war. 

He swallowed, before looking down wordlessly. Infinite narrowed his eyes at the reaction, and pulled back from Shadow’s support, even though he slumped forward in pain because of it. 

“So he was telling the truth, Robotnik. You murdered them, and went about your business without a second thought,” Infinite spat, the growl in his voice an afterthought. 

Shadow looked back up, staring down the jackal defensively. “Did you really start a war and murder hundreds, if not thousands of mobians, just because of what a notoriously two-faced supervillain told you? I didn’t fucking kill them, Infinite. Why does everyone think I did? They scattered before I even managed to attack them all, they were absolutely useless.” 

The jackal froze, eyes wide, mouth gaping. There was no way Shadow was telling the truth, but the bluntness of his words implied otherwise. 

Shadow noticed this and his glare faltered, reaching out to steady the swaying jackal. 

But then he leaned over and threw up. 

The hedgehog grimaced at the messy response, wrinkling his nose before he realized Infinite was crying. Shadow brushed the jackal’s dreads away from his face, grateful that they had not been soiled. 

“I’m sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen. I understand that it’s my fault that you turned to the doctor. You probably don’t believe me, but I ought to apologize regardless of your response,” Shadow said softly, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear. They were alone, but it felt intimate nonetheless. 

Infinite looked up, still shaking like a leaf. Was it weakness, or disbelief? Some would argue a bit of both.

“What?”

Shadow narrowed his eyes before exhaling, shaking off his vulnerability. “Look, I can try to make it up to you, but there aren’t many options here,” he admitted, which made the jackal snort. 

“You can’t offer me anything I’d want, but feel free to watch me die since this was all your doing,” he laughed humorlessly. That hit a nerve with Shadow, who felt his heart drop at Infinite’s words. He was right, technically speaking. 

“Don’t give up on him just yet, I don’t think he has given up either. You just need to remind him, okay?” the voice echoed, and Shadow grimaced at the realization. 

He sat Infinite up properly this time, so the two were facing one another, the close proximity unsettling but mandatory due to the jackal’s lack of independent stability. “You know, you could still be the ultimate mercenary, like before. If you wanted, of course, you could be who you were before we met. We could pretend the war never happened, and forget each other,” Shadow offered, and nearly smiled when the jackal’s ears twitched, interested in what he was offering. 

Despite his change in heart, Infinite didn’t respond, and continued to avoid Shadow’s gaze. 

“You have potential, Infinite.”

He looked up at that, his expression transparent. Shadow almost celebrated but resisted the urge, because he could see hope in the jackal’s eyes. 

When Infinite remained silent, Shadow held his face to ensure he wouldn’t look away after the hedgehog’s question, which would hopefully receive an answer this time. 

“Do you want to live? You need to answer honestly, and for yourself.” 

Infinite didn’t look away, and the spark in his eyes visibly reignited as a result of Shadow’s words.

“Yes.” 

The hedgehog nodded at the response, looking down at his wrists before sighing, and scrunching his eyes shut. Infinite opened his mouth to ask what he was doing, but was cut off by the bright green light that muffled whatever Shadow had shouted. 

Infinite couldn’t see anymore. 

“Shadow? What the hell just happened?” He asked shakily, feeling around for the hedgehog in a panic. Infinite knew he couldn’t have died since he still felt Shadow’s presence, but could no longer determine his bearings. 

“I’ll be back, I promise. I need to get something for you, okay? Stay here,” Shadow explained, shaking his head at the last comment because he knew there would be a snarky reply. 

Infinite grumbled, “And where exactly could I go? You really fucked up with that one,” he grumbled, but couldn’t resist letting out a tense, albeit weak laugh. 

Shadow cringed and shrugged, even though he had figured out the jackal couldn’t see him. “My bad, but I’ll be right back, okay?” 

There was no time to respond, because the hedgehog was already in front of Infinite, who felt something cold snap onto both of his wrists. 

“Are you handcuffing me?” He asked mockingly, raising an eyebrow despite not being able to see. Shadow grunted and mumbled a quiet ‘no’ in response, which made the jackal relax. 

Infinite felt his nausea fade, and the pain he had been experiencing was replaced with exhaustion. “What did you do then? I’m not complaining, it actually feels nice,” he said quietly, allowing himself to lose consciousness faster. 

Shadow began to move him, which the jackal was currently unable to object to; “I contained the spread of the ruby, I think. These will keep you from dying at the rate you were, but I need to figure out a long term solution. If this is anything like chaos energy, you should be okay for the time being, but dead within a couple days.” 

Infinite swallowed at that, but relaxed against the cool metal that Shadow had leaned him on, before presumably sitting beside him. “Does that mean I can sleep?” he asked hopefully, knowing that he’d be out in a few minutes regardless of what Shadow’s response would be. 

“No, you could die in your sleep and I’d have no way of knowing, I didn’t just give you her—” Shadow started, but cut himself off with a grunt when his voice began to raise in volume. Infinite was not conscious enough to pry or even notice, but did wait attentively for the rest of the explanation. 

“It’s not worth the risk,” Shadow continued, more guarded than before. The jackal groaned, throwing one of his hands in Shadow’s direction, satisfied when it successfully fell on the hedgehog’s legs. “Keep your hand on my pulse, zap me if it fades, or whatever,” he mumbled, before pulling his mask back down and closing his eyes. 

Shadow mumbled something incoherently before holding the jackal’s wrist, satisfied when he felt that Infinite’s pulse was stronger than before. “This is a bad idea,” he reminded, but looked over to realize Infinite had already fallen asleep. 

“What have I gotten myself into?” the hedgehog asked aloud, voice echoing through the abandoned observatory deck. He looked back down at the Earth and sighed, because at least the planet was safe from two weapons, who were now at the mercy of its orbit. 

Shadow had to spend the next few hours thinking of where to go from here, all because he accidentally promised to save a life he had no business saving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, so the boys have a proper encounter! I'll explain the Black Arms paradox in a future chapter, but I basically made every timeline in Shadow's game canon for angst purposes, and also because I'm too indecisive to pick a path lol.
> 
> I've also been working on an AU for after this fic, but it's very sloppy right now and I can hardly draw cover art for this fic, nevermind a webcomic! Oops... I've said too much. No more spoilers ;)
> 
> Take care,
> 
> Izzie <3


	5. Chapter 4. Avalanche, Bring Me the Horizon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, I'm back! This chapter originally had a different name and was much longer, but I split it in two so I could get some content up... plus it's an extra song! I also didn't have any editors for this chapter, so my apologies if there are mistakes. Once I can get someone to review it, I'll edit anything they catch :)
> 
> I also noticed my formatting gets messed up when I copy and paste my chapters, so I'm uploading differently this time. I hope it transfers! I'm too lazy to fix the errors in the previous chapters, so I'll just be more careful from now on. Anyways, enjoy!

Avalanche, Bring Me the Horizon

“Uh, Shadow, where the fuck are we?” Infinite asked cautiously, eyes not daring to move from the observatory windows. 

The hedgehog glanced over and noticed the jackal’s blatant discomfort, and did his best to calmly break the news. “You’re on the Space Colony ARK, but don’t worry, it’s abandoned.”

Infinite didn’t respond at first, and Shadow hoped that would be the end of the conversation. 

“So you’re telling me that you teleported me to space, to an isolated secondary location, when I was too weak to protest… and just figured I’d be okay with this? You  _ kidnapped me _ , what the hell?”

Shadow held back a laugh and cleared his throat, failing to conceal the amusement in his tone.

“I mean, yeah. What about it?” 

The jackal looked over at him wordlessly, expression unreadable. After sitting for long enough in the tense silence, he shook his head and groaned at how numb his limbs felt, opting to close his eyes again. “Whatever, do you have a plan? Hopefully one that’s back on Earth.” 

Shadow glanced down at his wrist communicator, before huffing, shaking his head. “I’m working on something right now, yes.” 

Infinite waited patiently for the hedgehog to elaborate, but it became increasingly clear that he was not going to say anything else unless he was forced to. 

“Okay, what are you thinking? Please tell me it’s not that useless fox that Sonic keeps around, or any member of the resistance for that matter,” he complained, picking at the holes in his gloves. 

Shadow narrowed his eyes, and roughly grabbed the jackal’s face, snapping it to meet his gaze, which startled the currently (and uncharacteristically) passive mobian. 

“His name is Tails, and he isn’t useless, you just traumatized him. However, we can both agree on keeping the resistance out of this. They think too much with their hearts, and will either kill you or blindly trust you: I don’t want either of those to happen.”

Infinite nodded, shying away from Shadow’s grasp and continuing to fidget with his hands. “Okay, then where are we going? G.U.N. is useless… wait, we aren’t going to Eggman, are we?” he asked, a wave of dread washing over him. 

The hedgehog noticed how Infinite tensed up and sighed, shaking his head. “No, he’d kill you too. I know someone who can probably help you, but I need to warn you beforehand, since we’re walking a dangerous line. Infinite, have you ever heard of the Babylon Rogues?” 

Well, he certainly wasn’t expecting this to be a part of Shadow’s plan. 

“Yeah, I did some work for them when I was a mercenary, but I never dealt with them directly. Why, do they have connections in the medical field?”

Shadow didn’t respond immediately, and instead fiddled with his wristband, which made the jackal groan in anticipation.

He eventually sighed and looked back over at Infinite, who was tapping his foot impatiently. “No, but they have a genius of a mechanic. However I will warn you, I have never met anyone more arrogant and easily offended than these birds, so whatever you do,  _ do not insult them _ .”

Infinite nodded obediently, and the hedgehog almost smiled at how easily he had gotten the jackal to cooperate. Maybe this wouldn’t be as difficult as he anticipated, but he knew the villain was relatively unstable and could turn at any moment. 

Shadow continued his explanation with more ease, “They have a neutral alliance like me, but I know both Robotnik and the Resistance are planning to reach out to them for a post-war alliance, and I can’t screw this up for either side. What I’m doing with you is under the table business, because their true loyalty is with whoever has the highest bid. Do not, under any circumstances, piss them off,  _ especially  _ their leader, Jet.” 

The jackal was overwhelmed from what Shadow was telling him, and nodded less enthusiastically this time, still struggling to process whatever the hedgehog said. 

Shadow frowned at the sluggishness and began scanning the jackal suspiciously, trying to pinpoint the fatigue.  _ “He literally just woke up,” _ a voice reminded him. 

His eye caught a flash of silver and snatched Infinite’s wrist, which startled him. “Right, I gave these to you. I’m sorry, I must have underestimated how strong they are…” Shadow mumbled, glancing down at his own inhibitor rings, loosening his grip on the jackal.

“What do they do exactly, are they killing me?” Infinite asked, following Shadow’s gaze down to the golden counterparts he wore. 

He shook his head, and pulled back to tamper with his communicator, “No, they just mute and contain your powers, which in this instance would be the Phantom Ruby prototype. However, you aren’t used to them yet so it’ll leave you feeling completely drained.” 

Infinite nodded and allowed the hedgehog’s words to sink in, annoyed that Shadow pulled away from him.  _ You can’t just randomly touch me with no warning and then jump away like it’s my fault, _ he thought to himself bitterly. 

Shadow was on the verge of relaxing until his wrist buzzed again, prompting him to tense and jump back into mission mode. 

“Okay, we’re teleporting in now,” the hedgehog stated, and Infinite wasn’t sure if the message was meant for the communicator or himself. When he realized this would probably go as horribly as last time, the jackal opened his mouth to protest, but was met with a blinding green light instead. 

Shadow managed to land gracefully on his feet unphased, whereas Infinite found himself lying on a carpeted floor, letting out a string of obscenities when his mask crushed into his face. 

“Ah— shit! Jeez dude, I didn’t even have time to shoot a message back, don’t do that!” a shrill voice squawked, and the hedgehog almost looked embarrassed. 

He helped up the floored jackal, who had to hold back a laugh when he found himself staring at the infamous leader of the Babylon Rogues. 

This was  _ definitely  _ not who Infinite was expecting.

Jet warily edged his way around his desk to grab the Nintendo Switch he had chucked at the wall when the two mobians teleported into his office, scanning them both cautiously. 

“Is this a bad time? When you said we could head over whenever, I assumed now would be appropriate considering he’s dying,” Shadow admitted, gesturing to the war criminal who was gawking behind his mask. 

_ You’re telling me that this plucky twink of a bird is a Nintendo simping, head of organized crime? That this green miscreant is the legendary wind master? _ Infinite didn’t believe it for a goddamn second. 

Jet shrugged, and placed the broken gaming device back on his desk, making a mental note to ask Wave to repair it.

“Nah, I meant what I said. What I forgot to consider was that your travel time is nonexistent, all because Sonic entrusts you with that funky green gem I can’t get my hands on,” the bird explained, before shuffling closer to Shadow. 

The hedgehog shrugged, fiddling with something in his quills. “I try not to pull it out too often, but it’s my responsibility regardless of what he tells me what to do. Don’t you have one though?” he asked, and Infinite couldn’t feel more lost or excluded from the conversation. 

Not that it mattered, since he wasn’t very good at small talk, noting how jittery the rogue seemed around him. Why did he almost feel bad? This kid probably doesn’t even have a driver’s license yet, and would rather stand closer to the notoriously violent hedgehog than him in his pathetic, demobilized state. 

Infinite hated being considered weak, but for once, he didn’t enjoy being feared. 

“Do you really think Wave would let me touch a damn chaos emerald? She’s working on harnessing the energy for our gear to completely replace air tanks, but I doubt she’ll get far considering it typically causes more harm than help if you don’t already have chaos powers,” Jet explained, keeping a wary eye on the door in case the swallow in question decided to show up while she was being underestimated. 

Shadow looked down at his shoes, and opened his mouth to respond, but decided against it. The hawk pretended not to notice and instead boldly turned to Infinite, who was intimidated by the sudden eye contact. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t even introduce myself! I’m uh, I’m Jet the Hawk: legendary wind master and leader of the Babylon Rogues… nice to meet you!” he announced, forcefully offering a hand to the jackal, who gently shook it in return. 

Jet laughed nervously when Infinite didn’t say anything, and it took a moment for the latter to remember that this was probably very rude, noting the disapproving look Shadow was giving him. 

“Oh, I’m Infinite I guess. It’s nice to meet you too, your office has a nice carpet,” he said, fumbling with his words. “ _ Nice going dipshit, have you never held a conversation before?”  _ the ominous voice snapped. 

Shadow had to resist burying his face in his hands as Jet continued to laugh nervously while mentally reminding himself to be polite; Wave warned him to not be a dick in case it got them put on a future hit list. 

Just as the hedgehog was about to break the uncomfortable silence, the rogue’s second-in-command burst through the doors in a hurry, which made Infinite jump and proceed to trip over himself. 

Storm focused on catching his breath as Jet coughed in false surprise to hide his laughter at the jackal’s clumsiness, “What’s up buddy? You startled our client, so not a good first impression.” 

The albatross grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry Boss, I just wanted to check in on your turnip prices during the commercial break, you wouldn’t believe what’s happening during the Tell-All! I PVR’d it, and reruns are on at 11 so I won’t say much in case you want to catch up later, but the Pillowtalk episode is going to be catastrophic! Who’s the client? Shadow looks calm to me, but I guess he always looks like that, good to see ya by the way!” 

The hedgehog cleared his throat and failed to hide the smirk that was growing on his face, before nodding his head towards the floor. 

Storm looked down and immediately let out a noise of surprise before scooping up Infinite— who was not permitted to protest, but still frightened by the sudden contact.  _ Why was this bird so goddamn big? Could he maybe put me back down? _

“Oh, my bad there kiddo, I didn’t see you down there! Should I take him to Wave’s workshop? He might get lost if we give him directions, and crawling takes a lot longer, assuming he was on the ground because he can’t walk,” Storm offered, despite the distraught look on the green bird’s face.

The hawk did his best to contain himself once the words registered, “Sure, I’ll work out semantics with Shadow, but tell Wave to fix my switch when she gets a chance! Oh, and remind her to order dinner as well, since you’re too busy catching up on TLC drama, okay?” 

Storm saluted with gratitude and turned around, him and his jackal-package waddling towards the workshop. Infinite’s horrified expression was priceless, but it was only visible to the hedgehog who had brought him here. 

He looked into Shadow’s eyes and telepathically begged him not to abandon him in the hands (or muscular arms) of a total stranger, but was ignored and eventually out of sight, and therefore out of Shadow’s quills. 

As soon as they were alone in the office, Jet and Shadow released a breath they had both been holding, and the former found himself chuckling. 

“ _ Nice carpets _ , who is this guy?”

“Not sure yet, but I’m going to get to the bottom of it eventually.” 

———

“—So even though I believe in vigilantism and taking justice into one’s own hands, I don’t think cancel-culture should be a part of today’s society, mainly because of how easy it is to falsely ruin a reputation with the widespread access of social media. Misinformation catches fire very quickly, and nobody truly recovers from the psychological damage it causes to all parties involved. People should be held accountable for their actions, but if they are mass-pressured into apologizing, it fails to be sincere and they never learn from their past mistakes. Give people the choice to own up to their actions, that way you know who to continue supporting and who to  _ truly _ cancel if they refuse to apologize... do you know what I mean?” Storm concluded, looking down at the weak jackal who had opted out of his free ride to drag himself through the never-ending hallways.

They probably would have been at the workshop by now if Storm had carried him, but the jackal was stubborn and decided to walk. 

Infinite shrugged, finally deciding to look up and acknowledge the bird, whom he had been ignoring in order to focus on walking relatively straight. “I guess, however I’m not informed enough on internet culture to form my own opinion, so I’ll take your word for it,” he admitted honestly, comfortable in the unusual rogue’s presence.

The bird shrugged sheepishly and continued to explain his viewpoint, something Infinite presumed he wasn’t able to do very often. However, he found himself observing Storm’s feathers, none of which were pigmented. 

“Why are you grey?” 

Storm halted abruptly, and the jackal felt his heart drop through the floor, his pulse beating in his ears.  _ “Nice going asshole, you just blew it, he’s going to chuck you out the nearest window, so much for listening to Shadow,”  _ the voice spat, and Infinite flinched at the words. 

He tried to recompose himself or get a glimpse of the bird’s expression, but was unable to think of a recovery topic or see anything but the large mobian’s back. “Look— I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything, I—”

“—Woah! Kiddo, I’m not mad,” Storm cut in, finally turning to face the jackal, reassuringly placing his hands on Infinite’s shoulders to ground him. “You know, that's a very good question! I guess I never really thought about it before, but come to think of it I don’t know any birds who are grey, which is certainly something. I don’t actually know the reason, but I bet Wave does! Even if she doesn’t, the question will probably bother her enough to find the answer so you’re bound to figure it out somehow, she’s good at that stuff,” he continued to explain, walking them to the end of the conversation-length hall before turning right. 

“Do you ever know the smallest part of a song and spend the longest time typing out the lyrics, and no matter what you search, nothing ever comes up? It’s real annoying, I’ll tell ya that kiddo.” 

Infinite slowly found himself relaxing as the albatross spoke, the strong Prison Island accent soothing his nerves. Still, the jackal found himself dreading whomever Wave was the more everyone spoke about her. 

She sounded like…  _ no, _ he thought to himself, grimacing.  _ If she’s anything like her, I’ll choose death over being around someone like that. Fuck Shadow, fuck Jet, fuck Storm. Absolutely not, _ he pouted. 

When they finally arrived at the workshop doors, Storm paused before entering, and kneeled down to look Infinite in the eyes.

The jackal warily watched the bird’s good-natured expression fade, unsure of where this conversation was heading. “Before we go in, I gotta tell you the big rules about being in Wave’s workshop, okay?”

“Yeah, I understand there are probably safety precautions and stuff,” Infinite responded, which earned him a weak smile in response. “Something like that, sure!” Storm said, which was not reassuring by any means.

The bird seemed to freeze for a moment, as if he were preparing his speech. This offered Infinite no comfort whatsoever, and was hoping that the list was short, since most of what Storm said didn’t register with him. 

Storm cleared his throat and began to recite rules, looking up at the ceiling as if they were listed beneath the word scatterbrained, “Don’t forget these, she gets petty with rule remembering. Anyways, rule number one, don’t touch anything. Rule number two, don’t ask what she’s doing or interrupt her if she’s doing something. Rule number three, don’t complain about the music. Well, actually, I don’t remember the real third rule or any of the others to be honest, but I know when Jet asked her to change her playlist, the wifi was mysteriously down for a week, I bet it has something to do with that. Anyways, you ready to go bud?” 

Infinite didn’t have time to answer before being thrust through the doors against his will, stumbling and immediately backing up to avoid crashing into a suspended mech. 

He looked around in amazement at the sheer size of the room, and couldn’t even begin to process all the various projects, both complete and incomplete, that were scattered throughout the workspace.

Sure, he had spent a lot of time around Dr. Robotnik’s bases, which were filled with robots of all shapes and sizes, but they were never in the process of being produced, and were strictly built to attack. Wave clearly specialized in extreme gear which took up most of the room, but other vehicles and mechs could be seen amongst other unnamable creations.

When the two had finally located the mechanic, she was hunched over her worktable, furiously scribbling out a rough blueprint for something. Infinite was too focused on the familiar melody blasting from her headphones, but immediately lost focus when Storm reached out to tap her shoulder.  _ Didn’t he just say not to— _

“Wave! Hey, c’mon, we have a client, you can’t be doodling when there’s a life to save! I brought Infinite like Jet told me, now it’s up to you to actually fix him,” Storm explained while shaking the swallow, who was both startled and irritated. 

The jackal found himself backing away slowly, not wanting to be in the danger zone if she exploded. However, he found himself backed into a corner, which was unfortunately enough to make Wave look up, her icy eyes locked onto the criminal.

_ “Oh, you’re screwed,” _ the voice commentated with a laugh, and Infinite gulped in response. He was confused though, when the bird raised her arm and pointed above his head before turning back to Storm, clearing her throat.

“Are you illiterate? Rule number 46a, if I’m in the middle of something, wait for me to look up or Google it yourself, I’m not your personal assistant. I don’t have that posted everywhere for fun, you should do yourself a favour and reread the full statement,” she scolded, which prompted the jackal to glimpse at where Wave was pointing.

It appeared to be Martin Luther’s 95 theses, but a closer look revealed it to be the workshop rules, which were printed so small that even Infinite who was directly beneath them could hardly read the words.  _ I don’t blame the guy for not remembering them all _ , he thought to himself amusedly.

Storm merely laughed, and gestured to the jackal, “He’d be dead by then! I gotta go grab the switch, Boss threw it when Shadow teleported in; the screen shattered so you have to replace it before he watches Pillowtalk with me later.”

“Wait, again? Storm, I can’t fix that  _ and _ run tests on Infinite, just buy him a new—no!  _ Storm _ —” she started, but the albatross had already fled back to Jet’s office, not before saluting to the jackal on his way out. 

Infinite found himself smiling as the bird left, already missing his insightful rants. It was a little early to say for sure, but the jackal almost considered Storm a friend. Not quite, but it was possible that if he survived, he wouldn’t kill him. Speaking of birds…

Wave cleared her throat, which caught his attention immediately. “So as you may know, I’m Wave, and I’m a fucking genius. I already know enough about you to say you probably don’t care, but I figured I’d introduce myself even though I’m sure the others already told you I’m an uptight bitch, or whatever. Since I hate small-talk, I’m just going to start running tests on you, okay?” she exclaimed, but began pulling Infinite along without waiting for his response. 

“Uh, they didn’t say you’re an uptight bitch, but I do know that you’re very smart… your projects look neat,” he tried to recover with, but the swallow was on a mission and didn’t appear to be listening.

Wave stopped them in front of a transparent pod, which was wired to a long glass desk that bore a striking resemblance to the one he had fallen asleep against while aboard the ARK. She immediately began booting up the machine, and Infinite looked to her with an expression that begged for the answer as to  _ why she had this _ . Thankfully, she stopped to notice.

The swallow sighed and pinched the bridge of her beak to prepare before justifying her sci-fi, ex machina pod, “I hate having to run diagnostics on the others when they don’t feel well or hurt themselves, so I engineered this to scan and identity any ailments or injuries, saving me the trouble.” 

Infinite raised an eyebrow, but couldn’t deny that he was impressed.

“So what you’re saying is, people bother you to the point you invent machines to deal with them instead?”

Wave didn’t respond right away, and was clearly thinking out her answer, “I mean, when you put it like that I  _ do _ sound like a bitch, but if you had to live with absolute morons, you’d probably try to do the same,” she said, shrugging. “But yes, you’re absolutely correct.”

He smiled, and was content that she couldn’t see the smug look of glee on his face. That was, until she started to approach him with a suspiciously coy grin. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked defensively, using all of his will to resist the urge to back away again. 

“I can’t scan you with your mask on, meaning I get to be the first one to see you without it,” Wave explained, already reaching to pull it off. 

Now, Infinite knew he couldn’t struggle or resist, because that would be rude. At the same time, this was a severe invasion of privacy that he was not willing to tolerate, and did his best to politely shy away from her grabby-hands.

He turned away as much as he could, and resisted the urge to growl; “You wouldn’t be the first, Shadow knows what I look like so there’s no need to compete for a spot you can’t have! I’m sure your machine is advanced enough to scan me without taking my mask off.”

Wave snickered and began prying it off anyways, ignoring the jackal’s blatant discomfort. “I hate being second to anyone, but I’m not breaking my machine because of your pride, sorry. You’re a discount Solaris, not Iron Man,” she teased, finally wiggling the mask off before he could respond to her rude comparison.

She was not expecting the disgruntled face she was met with.

Infinite froze immediately, the cool air on his face unnatural. He felt naked and incomplete, and flinched when the swallow placed the mask down with a clink.

Just as he was about to make an NC-17 rated comment and turn away, Wave reached out and began gently smoothing down his muzzle, which had been compressed and ruffled from the mask’s pressure. 

“See, that’s not so bad, right? I still have no idea who you are, so your real identity isn’t an issue with me,” she reassured, but they both knew that wasn’t the reason he didn’t want his mask removed.

The nasty scar that ran over his right eye,  _ his blue eye _ , was enough of an indicator that he didn’t take kindly to people staring at his face. Still, it was too late now to reverse the damage, and they’d have to mutually accept the awkwardness. 

When she finished fixing his facial fluff (which he refused to admit felt nice considering it was her fault he was upset in the first place) Wave brought Infinite over to the pod, hooking him up while continuing to avoid eye contact. Both were uncomfortably quiet, but knew that talking would only worsen the situation. 

“You will get pricked, and might feel a bit claustrophobic since you’ll be in here for about a minute, but it should be comfortable otherwise,” Wave explained, finally breaking the silence. 

That was probably the worst thing she could have said, but Infinite was in no position to complain. Hell, he didn’t even care anymore, he just hoped there was nothing she could do, and that he could just die at this point. 

Wave closed the pod before returning to the desk in order to start the scanning process, typing quickly and occasionally glancing up at the jackal. Infinite didn’t have any complaints at first, but grew increasingly numb and tingly as he was required to stand still, but found himself growing lightheaded. 

When the humming and buzzing stopped, he reopened his eyes, and was practically overjoyed to find Wave unhooking him from the dreaded machine. “See, that wasn’t so bad now, right?” she asked smugly, to which he merely groaned. 

“It was horrible, why would you make it do that to me?” Infinite whined, not even bothering to hold himself up when he was released, flopping forward onto Wave instead, who was not anticipating the additional weight but kept them steady nonetheless. 

The swallow grumbled something about ungratefulness while dragging him to one of her work benches, sitting him down and leaning him against a wall in case he slipped backwards, before returning to her computer. 

Wave made a noise of surprise which piqued the jackal’s interest, slyly opening an eye to look at her, curious about the reason for her shock. “When was the last time you ate or drank something? No wonder you’re so ragdoll-like…” 

“Uh, I don’t remember…?” he answered honestly, scrunching his face in an attempt to recall when he last did anything to maintain his health. 

Even before he had the Phantom Ruby prototype, consistent self care was never a priority. Still, had he really ignored basic necessities in the pursuit of world domination?  _ How embarrassing… _

She frowned at the jackal’s expression, and began to write down her theory on why he was so unkempt. 

“Subject did not require to upkeep necessities when under the control of the Phantom Ruby prototype while it functioned. Healthy status merely an illusion maintained and fulfilled during usage,” she mumbled as she typed, which only frustrated the jackal.

“It didn’t control me, it was just my weapon, nothing possessed me or anything,” he clarified, but Wave ignored him. 

_ He has no idea what he’s talking about, there’s no way that thing was under his control at any point in time, look at how quickly it turned on him the minute he let his guard down… it always had the power to overtake him, the ruby was probably just humoring him until it got bored of being misused, _ she thought, pitying the jackal. 

Infinite sighed loudly when the swallow didn’t respond, and began to complain again, “For a genius, you sure aren’t good at listening to people who clearly know more than you about something,” he barked out. 

Wave visibly twitched at that, and for a moment the jackal feared her reaction, remembering Shadow’s warning after it was much too late to take his statement back. Oops. 

However, he let out a sigh of relief when she continued to type, wisely deciding not to respond to Infinite’s comment. “What do you want on your pizza?” she eventually asked, which was certainly not what he was expecting.

He opened his mouth in an attempt to respond, but no noise came out. When she didn’t hear an answer, Wave looked up and deadpanned at the jackal, “You just gave up your rights to complain about toppings. I know you don’t have any allergies, so if something bothers you, just pick it off, too bad.” 

Infinite just nodded, as he simply didn’t have the energy nor the comfort level to verbally respond. When he didn’t acknowledge her attempt to save the conversation from failing, Wave walked over to the jackal and sat beside him, before letting out a deep sigh.

“I’m not gonna bite your head off or anything, you can relax a little… okay?” she said in a softer tone, which made Infinite’s ear twitch. Was he that painfully obvious?

He looked over and noticed the change in her expression, it was more transparent. Wave looked absolutely exhausted, which made him feel guilty for being so snippy before… she wasn’t uptight, she was overworked, and he knew a thing or two about how that felt. 

Infinite offered her a tentative smile, and tried not to wince when his lips cracked in the process, his fangs also not helping the bloodied response.

She snorted at his failed attempt to be apologetic, and grabbed a buffing cloth out of her back pocket to press onto his mouth, which only made him smile more. 

“Thanks,” he said offhandedly, but never specified what he was grateful for. Wave was smart, he didn’t have to spell it out for her. 

The swallow rested her forehead on the jackals shoulder, grimacing as if it gave her a concussion to do so, “Don’t thank me yet, I still have to figure out what the problem is,  _ and _ try and think of a solution. Is Shadow busy with anything? I feel like he knows a thing or two about the Phantom Ruby. I mean, he knows a lot about chaos emeralds and they can’t be  _ that _ different, right?” she asked warily, but Infinite knew she was probably just thinking out loud and didn’t bother answering her question. 

He tried not to flinch away from the unwarranted contact, and instead let the girl break down a little around (and on) him. After seeing how Storm acted before on their walk, he was beginning to get the feeling the Babylon Rogues had some unresolved tension amongst themselves, and as the only current outlier he was a sinkhole for their honesty, a void to scream into, perhaps.

“Well, he said something similar to me before, about how these contain energy for both gems,” Infinite offered, gesturing to the rings on his wrist. 

Wave sat up and curiously held the jackal’s wrists, observing the silver garments with newfound interest. “Did he say what they are, or who made them? I’ve never seen anything like these before…” she said quietly, fumbling with one of them to take it off and inspect its properties.

“I wouldn’t take that off if I were you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I hope this was a good read! I base my characterization of Storm off of his Snapcube fandub personality because Chase Young is a perfect VA for him in my opinion... please watch all the Sonic fandubs if you haven't already! I've referenced them numerous times, and plan to continue doing so. Also, "Prison Island" is my take on New Jersey because of it's supposed geographic location, which is why I made that commend ;)
> 
> I adore the Babylon Rogues, so the next few chapters involve them a lot... I hope that's okay!
> 
> Take care everyone, I hope to post the next chapter very soon since it's just the second half of the chapter I initially wrote!
> 
> Izzie <3


	6. Chapter 5: Nobody, Mitski | Forever, Labrinth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah! This time we have a long chapter followed by a semi-chapter (it didn't fit with the theme of Nobody by Mitski, but wasn't long enough for its own chapter) and surprise! I didn't edit a damn thing. If you spot a typo, I'll write you a oneshot of your request :)
> 
> I completely strayed from the chapter outline halfway though, but I think it was for the better. Anyways, enjoy!

  1. Nobody, Mitski



“I wouldn’t take that off if I were you.”

Wave recoiled from the jackal at the unexpected command, quickly turning around to see who had spoken. She opened her mouth to respond, but for once, found herself having nothing to say.

Infinite was just as startled as the swallow, but didn’t have the energy to react the way she did, still uneasy from the scanning; “I told you nobody appreciates your teleporting, cut that shit out and walk for once, jeez.”

Shadow rolled his eyes and approached the work bench, exaggerating his steps due to how awkward it was to walk in air skates. “They were designed and prototyped by Maria Robotnik, and further developed by Professor Gerald Robotnik, with the final design being these,” the hedgehog explained, before gesturing to his wrists. 

Something about the way he said their names gave Infinite the feeling there was more to the story, but the jackal didn’t feel comfortable asking questions around two people who clearly knew more on the topic than he did.

That, and he didn’t like the slight waver in Shadow’s voice as it glossed over the girl’s name.

“So you’re telling me these things contain your chaos energy, and that it does the same for the Phantom Ruby? And, inferring from this, if you were to take them off... your full power would be released?” Wave asked, standing up and walking over to admire the golden inhibitor rings, holding them the way she held Infinite’s. 

Shadow didn’t have time to protest or keep the swallow from grabbing his hands, and was only further discomforted when she sat on the ground to observe the rings on his ankles. “Er— yes, but I’ve never removed all four, only the ones on my wrists. I’ve never needed to, and I don’t think my air shoes would survive the blast.” 

“You’d probably fry them if you tried that, however they  _ could  _ use a paint job; you do realize the sealant is completely worn off too, right?” she judged, almost hurt and offended by the lack of maintenance. 

The hedgehog made a noise of acknowledgement, but refused to admit they needed fixing; he was against other people tampering with his gear.

Infinite leaned around Wave to get a better glimpse of the shoes, and noticed the worn-down paint she was referring to. “ _ Looks like you’re not the only one neglecting self care,”  _ the voice pointed out.

Just as he was about to comment, Shadow let out a small laugh, which prompted the jackal to look up.

“What?”

The hedgehog looked away, but not before Infinite caught a glimpse of the smile on his face.

“Nothing, you should try to look like this more often though.”

Wave cleared her throat and went back to her computer, insisting that Shadow reviewed the results with her since he was qualified to do so. It wasn’t until he left that Infinite realized the hedgehog had commented on the absence of his mask, resulting in delayed embarrassment.

_ Would it be rude to put it back on? _

“Just so you know, I’ll offer any compensation you request for this, I’m not going to be stingy,” Shadow mumbled to the bird, who was currently preoccupied with skimming through the data. 

She didn’t respond which confused the hedgehog, since the Babylon Rogues were always interested in conversations about money. It wasn’t until he read the screen himself that Shadow understood why Wave was suddenly so distraught.

“Where are his ribs?” he whispered, hoping it was a scanning error.

Wave gulped, before letting out a shaky breath, “That bastard of a man… I’m blasting the fool the next time I see him.”

In order to make room for the Phantom Ruby prototype, Eggman had removed the entire front half of Infinite’s rib cage, and fused the gem to what was left behind to ensure it wouldn’t be rejected. 

“I assume that when his body accepted the implant, it began to fuse with his remaining bones and spread through the rest of his body… the pain must have been muted until the gem was rejected,” she theorized quietly, not wanting the jackal to hear their conversation.

Wave looked over at the hedgehog, who was unresponsive. Her theory made sense, but Shadow was still in awe that Infinite had managed to stay alive for as long as he did. The inhibitor rings may have dampened the power of the ruby, but that meant he was feeling the pain of the botched surgery as well. 

“Don’t pay me until I save him, I know machines, not mobians. I have no idea what I’m signing up for, I just hope there’s something we can do about it…” the swallow warned, before turning back to look at the patient in question. 

She knew Jet wouldn’t be happy with her decision, but the lost expression on Shadow’s face was enough to win her over on working pro bono. 

Infinite was too busy combing through his tail to notice the mobians staring at him, which was probably for the best.

Shadow’s nerves worsened as he remembered what the jackal had told him during their second encounter,  _ “That day, I gave up my own unsightly face. And I let go of the old me, the one that was so weak, so that I could become stronger. And then, at last... I obtained the power. The power to make all yield to my will. I... was... REBORN!” _

This was his fault,  _ he _ was what prompted Infinite to do this, to “reinvent himself”. And now, the jackal was dying because of it, leaving Shadow with no alternatives.

“What if he had a rib donor?”

Wave glared at the hedgehog as if he were dense, and failed to mask the twitch in her eye, “I’m sorry,  _ are you an idiot or just incredibly stupid? _ Even if I were to laser out the ruby and secure a donor, there’s a high probability he’d die anyways if it were rejected, and that’s glossing over how you think rib donors are a thing. Nobody donates ribs, Shadow.”

Shadow just stared at her, moreso stunned from the sudden outburst than offended, but still resisted the urge to snap back. 

“Okay, but what if I gave you a few of mine? You can clone the rest, and there would be minimal decay because you’re getting them fresh. I’ll even throw in some bone marrow to make the cloning process quicker, not to mention PBSCs as well, which should take care of the remnants throughout his body,” the hedgehog explained slowly.

No response. Wave was a difficult person to leave speechless, but Shadow was very good at producing silence, which was enough to attract Infinite’s attention. 

“They’ll grow back overnight, I’m not particularly attached to them,” he continued, which was unfortunately not the most appropriate comment to follow with. 

Wave inhaled deeply, closing her eyes in an attempt to calm down, “I’m going to pretend what you just said isn’t the most questionable thing I’ve ever heard, and just roll with it. Get in the pod, I need to make sure what you’re suggesting is even possible, and I need data on you to do that.”

Shadow eyed her warily, but when she didn’t budge or elaborate, he grudgingly walked towards the testing pod and hooked himself in, blatantly uncomfortable but compliant nonetheless. 

Infinite was behind on the conversation, but watched curiously from the outside as the tube began its data retrieval process. 

“Hey Shadow, what the fuck? You never told me you’re an alien,” Wave announced from her computer, oblivious to how disturbed the hedgehog was from the scan. The second the machine shut off, he practically threw himself out, and stumbled to the workbench to sit down.

Infinite laughed without processing the swallow’s comment, and gestured to the nauseous mobian beside him, “I told you it wasn’t just me, there’s clearly something wrong with your machine.”

Shadow didn’t laugh, and the jackal began to regret the comment, glancing over only to notice how the other was shaking. When their eyes met, the hedgehog stiffened and looked back up at Wave.

“I was created from Black Doom’s DNA, yes. That’s why I’m a universal donor with moderate regenerative powers, and I’m immortal,” he explained, quickly repressing his discomfort to focus on the task at hand. 

Infinite’s eyes widened, but the swallow was relieved, “Oh, then I suppose your plan should work, it will take a few hours for the ribs to clone, and I have to look into  peripheral blood stem cell donation before we start anything. Are you guys joining us for movie night?” she asked casually, glossing over the cryptic information. 

Shadow looked back over to Infinite, and shrugged, “Do we have anything better to do?”

The jackal couldn’t resist smiling, and shook his head, prompting the hedgehog to answer for the both of them. “We’ll stick around, it’s not like we can go very far anyways, especially if I’m now roped into the recovery project.”

Wave beamed at the cooperation from both males, and felt a newfound rush of confidence, “Perfect! Pizza is on the way, and Pillowtalk should be finishing soon so we can all meet up in the theatre room.” 

“I missed out on what most of those words were, but I do have to know… what’s my prognosis?” Infinite asked, not wanting to destroy the unusually positive environment, but still curious about his well being.

He felt Shadow tense at his question, but Wave was confident enough to respond, “This isn’t my area of expertise, so I can’t give you a statistic. I’ll do what I can, but I’m not promising anything good from this.”

The jackal wasn’t sure, but she sounded scared. In an attempt to reassure her, he opted to make light of the situation, “ I mean, if you don’t do anything I’ll die anyways, so you’re either saving me or putting me out of my misery... and I don’t mind either!”

Shadow coughed and looked away, but Wave couldn’t control herself and burst out laughing, before abruptly stopping to cover her mouth, realizing that Infinite probably didn’t mean it as a joke.

“I’m sorry, that’s not very funny…” she apologized, which sounded unnatural coming from her. The bird was doing her best to be sincere, but the ghost of a smile on her face dictated otherwise.

Infinite smirked, “Yeah it is, and it’s also the truth. Don’t treat me like I’m made of glass, even though it feels like I am.”

She giggled in response, and the two shared a genuine (albeit brief) connection before the sound of something large crashing ruined the moment. 

“Hey Wave, can you fix Jet’s switch now? I know I was supposed to bring it right back, but I missed the second half of the Tell-All and had to rewind it, and then I forgot about my responsibilities again so I’m late, sorry. How’s Infinite doing?” Storm asked, feathers suspiciously coated in motor oil.

Wave glared at the albatross, or more specifically, the mess he had inadvertently caused when running to greet her, “Do I even need to say it again? No running in my workshop, I hope that wasn’t my modded Jetta you just destroyed, or we’ll have two bodies to burn.”

He immediately panicked and began looking for the jackal, but calmed down significantly when he noticed that Infinite was still alive, completely ignoring the girl’s threat. 

“Don’t say that, he’s right there and perfectly fine!” Storm scolded, before addressing the mobian in question, “Boss wants to see you by the way, c’mon.”

Infinite looked over to the swallow, who shrugged indifferently, “I have no use for you here dude, you might as well see what Jet wants. Shadow, are you ready to Google  PBSC donation and hope for the best?”

“I mean, can I get the wifi password first? G.U.N. doesn’t pay for my data,” the hedgehog responded coyly, before standing back up to join the bird.

The jackal snorted at Shadow’s witty response, which made the comedian in question turn back to see what the problem was.

“What? I’m only half joking, my finance manager will be pissed if I go over my plan again. Wave, do you have any filgrastim? I think that’s the best course of action unfortunately,” the hedgehog admitted, before joining the swallow at her computer, indulgently taking a glimpse at his test results.

_ “Narcissist stop reading that,” _ the voice snapped at Shadow, who jolted back from the screen, embarrassed.  _ “Nothing to see there I guess, _ ” he thought quietly to himself, focusing on Wave’s chatter instead. 

The two began conversing in words that neither Infinite or Storm could process, who looked to one another with the consensus that they should leave while they still had the chance. Infinite pulled himself to his feet and quietly followed the albatross out of the workshop, grimacing at the mess of parts they passed that he assumed used to be a project of Wave’s.

Storm noticed the reaction and chuckled before placing a hand on the jackal’s shoulder, “She’ll fix it, she always does!”

Before he met Wave, Infinite may have laughed along carelessly with the bird. However, he was beginning to realize that she was one ruffled feather away from exploding or breaking down, and he did not want to be around, dead  _ or  _ alive for when that happened. 

“I’ll be honest with you kiddo, Jet didn’t have a word to say to ya, I just figured you’d be bored and left out of the conversation, plus I don’t think we should be around if Shadow’s gettin’ needles and stuff,” Storm whispered, which surprised the jackal significantly. 

He smiled at the kind gesture and shrugged, but nodded in agreement, “Yeah, it sucks being the dumbest person in the room… I was never one for STEM anyways, the arts are more my calling.”

Storm gasped at the response, and stopped the two of them so he could kneel down and give another pep talk. “Don’t say that bud, you’re never the dumbest person in a room, especially if I’m around! There’s nothing dumb about art either, you’re definitely more interesting and it shows, us artists just have better conversations… okay?” 

Infinite looked down at the compliment, and resisted the urge to say something embarrassing, mumbling a tiny thank you instead. 

The bird got back up and they continued their trip to the movie room in pleasant silence. He may have been dying, but Infinite felt rejuvenated by Storm’s company, this was probably the nicest conversation he’d had in years.

“So, did you ask about my feathers because of your eyes?”

Ah, there it was.The jackal almost started cussing Storm out then and there, but opted to just answer honestly instead; he meant no harm, Infinite knew what it was like to speak without thinking first.

“Yeah… maybe,” he mumbled, folding his hands behind his back.

Storm made a little victory noise from the successful guess, and continued with what he intended to follow with,  “I haven’t met many jackals, but I don’t think mismatched eyes are a regular thing for anyone. Still, I think it looks pretty cool, like how people mismatch their socks on purpose for the aesthetic! Have you ever done that? To be honest I started doing it by accident, but it’s very in-fashion so I didn’t feel so bad about it. Symmetry is unachievable, like that camera flip challenge on TwinkTok or whatever Jet keeps telling me to download. Eh, nothing’ll beat Vine for me, plus I’m not good with learning how to use new apps. I like the look though, the scar looks pretty cool too, it adds to the effect! Definitely could play an anti-hero in a dystopian Netflix series, a lotta chicks and dudes go for that rugged look. But I guess that doesn’t matter in the end, what matters is that  _ you _ like it, but if you wear a mask all the time that doesn’t give you much room to appreciate your face. Oh well, I’m not one to judge, you figure that out on your own time, kiddo.” 

Infinite struggled to pay attention to the whole rant, which managed to jump into so many new territories he hardly had time to mentally address everything, but figured he should be flattered since it was probably the most coherent thing Storm had ever pieced together. 

“Thank you, Storm.” he said endearingly, leaning sideways into the albatross as a low-contact form of acknowledgement. Infinite didn’t want to hug the bird even if it was tempting, and figured the dirty feathers would be a valid excuse if questioned.

_ “How are you simultaneously touch-starved and touch-repulsed at the same time?” _ the voice inquired, but Infinite pushed the comment aside. Even if he attempted to respond, his train of thought would be interrupted by the blur he walked straight into. 

After landing face first into carpeted floors twice in the same day, the jackal was beginning to think he was cursed.

Green feathers obscured his vision, and he embarrassingly peeled himself off the hawk he had collided with. “Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” he apologized, blinking rapidly in the hopes of restoring his blurred vision.

“No, this was my fault for riding in the halls again,” Jet responded, pulling back to sit cross-legged on the floor. The young bird was very flustered, and his expression worsened when he noticed Infinite no longer wore his mask.

It took a moment for the jackal to figure it out, but Jet was either greatly disturbed or intrigued… either way he couldn’t look away from Infinite.  _ “Like the trainwreck you are, _ ” the voice teased with a laugh, which only made Infinite groan.

Storm made a noise of discomfort and leaned down to mumble in his boss’ ear, “I’m gonna hit the showers, can ya stick around to make sure he doesn’t have a concussion? You can handle another one, but he’s already too far gone to survive brain damage.”

“Yeah, you can catch up with us later... Why did nobody warn me that he’s actually hot?” the hawk whispered back, both birds unaware that although he was disoriented, Infinite had very good hearing and was eavesdropping on their conversation. 

_ I mean, maybe Jet was the one with a concussion, there was no way he just complimented him! Either that, or this guy has low standards, _ he thought to himself as he began to level out.

Jet stood up and offered a sheepish hand to the jackal, who took it a little too quickly.  _ “Is this the first thing you do when someone shows a slight interest in you? No wonder you don’t have friends, _ ” the voice teased.

“Can we ride my board back? Walking takes forever in these halls,” the bird asked, and Infinite eyed the gear in question. “I mean,” he started, remembering to be as polite as possible, “Didn’t you just admit that riding your board indoors is a bad idea?”

The hawk laughed and shook his head, pulling Infinite towards the gear and positioning him so they could both ride, “You’re right, but everyone else on the ship is busy doing something, we won’t have any more collisions, I promise.”

Infinite was uncomfortable with how close he was to the bird, whose back was pressed against his chest in an attempt to balance them both on his one-person compatible board. “ _ It’s a speed-type board, they’re thinner! _ ” the voice explained politely, which was so out of character that the jackal questioned if it was the same being that was consistently rude to him.

“Okay, just lean when I lean, and hold onto me as tight as you can because I have one speed, and it’s  _ fast _ . Ready?” Jet enthused, and since Infinite didn’t have a choice he just nodded and obeyed the rogue’s orders.

Well, at least he got a warning before they took off! The jackal found himself clinging to Jet for dear life, racing to their destination in a matter of minutes, as opposed to the long-winded treading Storm always took him on. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the albatross and his quirky rants, but Infinite missed the feeling of wind in his fur, somehow terrified and overjoyed at the same time.

Jet stopped them smoothly and helped the jackal off, beaming at how well he braked with an additional rider on his board, “See, wasn’t that much easier? 

“You’ll have to teach me how to ride one of those someday, it’s such an efficient way to get around,  _ and _ it’s fun.” Infinite enthused, before realizing he sounded like a total loser. 

The hawk didn’t seem to think so, and was practically gushing at how much Infinite was fueling his ego, “No problem, I’m the Legendary Wind Master… you’ll have the best teacher! Come on now, we can play Animal Crossing while we wait for the others. I mean, the screen is cracked, but Wave is a little preoccupied with a hedgehog that’s infamous for hating needles.” 

Infinite raised an eyebrow at the comment, unaware that Shadow had a weakness, “Oh? I didn’t think he was capable of fearing anything, I guess we all have our shortcomings.” 

“Well hold on, I wouldn’t consider it a fear, more like… a very strong preference. I’m personally not afraid of anything,” Jet boasted. Infinite found the bird’s ego to be nauseating, but charming. 

The jackal had a slight theory, and decided to test his poor luck, “What about me? You were adamant on avoiding me in your office, I’m the only person to defeat Sonic after all.” 

Jet snickered and shook his head, which confused Infinite immensely, “I’m not afraid of you, I mean, you were defeated by the power of  _ friendship _ ... that’s lame as hell! Also, you’re wrong about being the first to win against Sonic. He told me about this time paradox incident where some demigod killed him, and after some human princess kissed him to bring him back to life: it took  _ three  _ super forms to defeat this timey, fire god thing too! I dunno if he was joking or trying to make me look stupid for believing him, but it sounded too intense to be fake.” 

“Wait, you’re friends with Sonic?” Infinite asked warily, not realizing the bird actually harboured a connection to the hedgehog. 

Jet turned red at the question, and began making unintelligible, motorcycle-esque noises of frustration as he attempted to answer, “No! Shut up right now, we’re playing Animal Crossing, let’s go. He’s my rival, just because we hang out on the weekends and sometimes save the world together, it doesn’t make us  _ friends _ , Infinite.”

The jackal followed him into the television room, more amused than embarrassed from the scolding he received. 

“Wait, what’s an animal’s crossing?”

———

Forever, Labrinth

After an in-depth tutorial on how to use a Nintendo Switch, followed by pizza and  _ Grownups 2 _ , Infinite was pretty sure that Storm and Jet had adopted him into the Babylon Rogues. 

He was flattered, yes, but the jackal couldn't enjoy himself when his mind constantly reminded him this could be his last day alive. “What’s taking Wave so long? I thought the cloning was supposed to be the easy part,” Infinite asked warily.

“Relax dude, just keep fishing for me while I grab us a bag of chips,” Jet whined, which was not comforting in the slightest. 

Storm noticed the tension and decided to pat Infinite on the back in a reassuring manner, failing to realize his brute strength was doing more harm than help to the jackal who was currently struggling to stay conscious. “You’re gonna be okay kiddo, Wave can fix anything! Well,  _ almost _ anything, but I don’t want your spirits to be down in the dumps, so we’ll pretend she doesn’t make mistakes.”

Infinite did not like this, he did not like it one bit. Thankfully, he heard footsteps coming from down the hall, and turned around in anticipation of whoever was coming to save him from this hell, even if he was simultaneously having a fun time. 

“Which one of you said I was afraid of needles?” Shadow growled upon entry, slurring his words ever so slightly. Jet made extra noise in the snack pantry to ignore the question, and Storm had been reabsorbed into the plot of the movie, failing to notice the hedgehog, so his eyes fell on Infinite. 

The jackal silently nodded towards the hawk, and smirked when Shadow’s face darkened. 

“Don’t be sour with him, sit with us until Wave comes to get me... why did it take so long?” 

Shadow mumbled a loopy, incomprehensible response under his breath and hopped over the couch to sulk beside Infinite, who could not be more overjoyed. If he died tonight, at least he got to witness The Ultimate Lifeform pouting like a child.

“Wave’s probably just prepping for your part of the procedure, she’ll be here to grab you sometime I guess. I took my own ribs out by the way,  _ for you _ , you’re welcome,” the hedgehog explained bitterly, resting his head on the arm of the couch.

Infinite glanced over, noticing how uncomfortable Shadow looked. Besides the dark bandaging that started mid chest and trailed down to his left thigh, he looked completely normal. Still, he radiated tension and lost his iconic cool exterior, sounding more like a kicked puppy than an infamous anti hero. 

The hedgehog felt eyes scanning him and shot a glare at Infinite, who snickered at the childish behaviour, “Look, you were the one who volunteered, Mister Doom. Don’t try to make me feel guilty, because you could have simply not offered your magic bones. Go to sleep, you’re cranky.”

Shadow looked down in defeat, before rolling himself up into a hedgehog-ball and closing his eyes. 

After listening to the hedgehog settle, Jet shyly walked back to the seating area with the promised chips and remaining slice of pizza. “Shadow… do you want some pizza?” he asked, hoping it would be a sufficient peace offering.

“Does it have cheese?” he inquired, opening one of his eyes. 

The hawk nodded cautiously, which was met with an abrupt ‘no’ from Shadow.

_ “Maybe he’s lactose intolerant?” _ the voice offered, but was not entirely convinced this was the answer. Infinite tried to think of how plausible the theory was, but began giggling to himself when imagining Shadow’s sole weakness being dairy.

His amusement caught Storm’s attention, who looked over to see what was so funny. Infinite’s eyes darted between the three mobians who were now staring at him expectantly for an explanation as to why he was laughing at himself. 

The jackal grew embarrassed and looked down at his shoes, clearing his throat before confessing, “Sorry, I just think it would be funny if G.U.N. interrogated Shadow by forcing him to like, eat a block of cheese or something… it’s not that funny when you say it out loud, my bad…” he admitted, coughing between words to avoid laughing. 

He expected some kind of physical retaliation from Shadow, but looked up to be met with a bewildered expression. 

“Are you okay, Infinite?” 

“No, I’m dying,” he responded defensively, which was the last straw for Jet, who was on the verge of combusting from repressed nervous laughter, too intimidated by the unstable mobians to express genuine amusement from their misery. 

“That’s enough you two, just watch the movie or I’ll ask Storm to discuss politics,” he threatened.

Thankfully, everyone was saved from a horrid reality where the albatross attempted to address a serious topic in a botched, cartoonish manner by Wave’s arrival, which was far from comforting.

“Did you all seriously have movie night without me? Not only that, but you trashed the room, destroyed my current project, made a mess of my workshop, and left a trail of  _ dried blood _ in the hallway? Are you  _ fucking kidding me _ ? Storm, I expect this from you, and Jet I instill false hope in only to be met with disappointment every other week, but  _ et tu, Shadow _ ?” 

Perhaps “thankful” was not the correct word for how the other mobians felt, but the sharp yet broken tone of the swallow’s voice came as a relief to Infinite, who wanted to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. 

Jet scoffed and shook his head, breaking the tense silence, “Jeez Wave, no need to kill the mood and be a total bitch in the process.”

Of the three perpetrators, Shadow was the only one who looked guilty, in fact, he harboured enough guilt to cover everyone in the room. Still, in her fit of disappointment, Wave ignored his moment of sincerity to collect the jackal and leave. 

Maybe it was salt to the wound, but Infinite couldn’t resist sticking his tongue out at the boys as Wave carried him out, happy to not be in trouble this time around. 

Once they made it down the hall, the jackal shifted his head to stare at Wave, whose pace was beginning to slow down as the adrenaline wore off.

“You can put me down now if you want, I promise I can keep up with you,” he offered gently, and was dropped almost immediately, giving him no time to prepare.

It would be the third time Infinite’s face smashed into the Babylon Rogues’ carpet within 24 hours, and the jackal decided if he survived this haphazard surgery, he would make it his personal mission to burn the wretched things. 

Wave giggled at the faceplant, before helping him back up, “Sorry Infinite, I just really needed that.”

He struggled to his feet and gave her a pained smile, before the two continued walking to her workshop. They didn’t speak, but neither minded the silence, especially since it was probably quite late at night. 

Infinite was surprised when they showed up at the workshop in under a minute, and looked to the bird, eyes pleading for an explanation.

“What, are you that surprised? Storm doesn’t know left from right and simply wanders the halls until he finds his destination, and Jet takes the long way on his board so he can ride for a few minutes. Our ship isn’t some never-ending labyrinth, they’re just idiots,” she deadpanned, and the jackal couldn’t resist laughing.

They reentered her workshop, and Infinite was pleasantly surprised to see an actual operating table with authentic medical equipment, visibly piquing his interest, “Did you build all of that just now?” 

Wave laughed at his dumbstruck expression and shook her head, grabbing a hair tie off her wrist to tie the jackal’s dreads back, “No, we keep it in storage in case I have to do an impromptu procedure on one of them... we get in a lot of trouble. It’s not that I’ve never performed a surgery before, I just don’t typically administer general anesthesia because of the high risk factor,” she explained.

He didn’t like how softly the swallow was speaking, it was out of character and unwarranted. Why was she being so reserved and patient, especially after such an outburst?

“Are you like, okay Wave? You just chewed out the others, and now you’re improvising a surgery alone, on what I presume is insufficient sleep.” Infinite questioned, treading lightly considering his life was now in her hands.

Contrary to what he expected, the bird didn’t snap at him, or make a jab at his intelligence. 

She stopped what she was doing to look over at the jackal, who was probably a few hours from death, “I’ve been worse, and I doubt you can say the same.”

Wave was right, but that didn’t really answer his question.

“Are you scared?” she asked. 

He could lie, yeah, but that was never his strong suit.

“Yeah, you could say I’m a tad nervous. However, I think you’ll do fine, I just don’t like the idea of being unconscious,” Infinite explained, his ears twitching when the swallow let out a sigh of relief.

The jackal made note of her reaction, but decided to keep his snide comments to himself, complying with her orders as they prepared for the inevitable procedure.

Wave instructed him to lay down and close his eyes, which was an unusual request that he obeyed without question, wanting this to be done as fast as possible.

“I’m gonna be real with you Infinite, I don’t know much about Shadow. What I  _ do _ know is that he keeps to himself and doesn’t put himself in compromising positions like this just for nothing. I don’t know what he’s going to get out of helping you, but I have a feeling you made a deal with the devil here. I certainly wouldn’t give a rib to an enemy, especially a war criminal.”

The comment was cold, and unwarranted, not to mention insensitive. Infinite opened his eyes to respond, only to find himself staring into eyes that were not Wave’s. 

Well…

It appeared that Wave was not performing this surgery alone. Before Infinite could protest or determine the identity of the mute aid, he found himself struggling to breathe, limbs thrashing in vain as his heart rate increased, and his spatial awareness decreased.

All he heard was frantic beeping and muffled shouting before he faded completely. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, decided to add another side plot last minute, haha ;)
> 
> We'll see if Infinite survives the next chapter, and also figure out if I can calm down with the pop culture references for once, but I doubt that will happen in response to the latter. 
> 
> I hope you are all doing well, this chapter was super hard to finish! From here on out, I think the next couple chapters will be more managable, but no promises. 
> 
> Take care,
> 
> Izzie <3


	7. Chapter 6: Necromancer, Joy Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I'm back sooner than I bet you anticipated, which works out well for everyone! This is a shorter chapter, but it was super easy to write and post (and is also very essential to the fic) so I'm glad it's up :)
> 
> Also, if Infinite seems slightly out of character, please keep in mind he just suffered a very traumatic experience (homeboy needed the humbling imo) and is also high on painkillers. He's also not even that evil to begin with, just in need of some friends and maybe some therapy too, haha.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

Necromancer, Joy Again:

_ “Ara, you know better than to pester them; just the sight of you is enough to make anyone’s blood boil,” she scolded, but the slightest hint of affection in her voice suggested that she wasn’t as disappointed as she let on. _

_ He flinched as she placed a steadying hand on his shoulder, but knew that pulling away would evoke a much more unsettling series of events. _

_ She noticed his tension, and repressed the urge to let her mask crack. _

_ “Don’t let your emotions get the best of you, ‘peri. Weakness is unacceptable, even from people like you.” _

\---

The sound of birds chirping began to transform into the beeping of machines, and an abrupt rush of euphoria closely followed by immense pain made Infinite’s eyes snap open. He struggled to adjust to the dark environment, sitting up to get a better look at the suspicious being in his peripheral vision.

After enough squinting, the jackal was able to make out what appeared to be Wave, sleeping awkwardly in a plastic folding chair. Based on the way she was curled up, he assumed she had been watching his vitals before falling asleep, which made him smile.

_ Even after being a total pain in the ass, she’s doing her best to look after me, _ he realized, wincing as he stretched. 

He had no idea he wasn’t the only one awake until the faint sound of clicking buttons caught his attention, prompting him to turn around. Jet was barely conscious but present nonetheless, refusing to blink lest he passed out.

Whether it was the noise Infinite made when sitting up or sheer coincidence, the hawk glanced up haphazardly and back down at his game before freezing in realization, gaze snapping back up to stare at the jackal in awe.

“Holy shit, she did it… Wave did it! You’re alive!!!” he cheered quietly, getting up from his seat to sit on the edge of Infinite’s cot, still in shock that his mechanic managed to pull this off. 

Infinite laughed a little at the realization, which was only now beginning to register with him, “Yeah… I guess I am…” he mumbled, wincing at the pain he felt in his throat.

Jet started to celebrate, but the purple swallow on the other side of the room stirred in her sleep, so he opted to give Infinite an awkward hug instead, careful to avoid pressure on his chest. “I have so much to tell you, hold on!” he enthused, before rolling the nearby workbench alongside the stolen hospital bed. 

“Just try not to wake her, I feel bad… she looks uncomfortable,” he said quietly to the bird, who was vibrating with delirious, sleep deprived glee. 

The hawk shook his head and snickered, “You have no idea how stubborn she was post-surgery, we’re lucky I’m good at pickpocketing…” he explained, gesturing to his wrist.

It looked similar to his inhibitor rings (which he noted were the only things Wave had kept on him) but was much bulkier, the rose-tones glistening in the dim lighting. He looked over at Jet hoping he would elaborate, which the bird eventually queued into.

“Oh, it’s something she just threw together-- it shocks the person wearing it if your vitals are abnormal, just in case she fell asleep. I took it off her though, since it wasn’t working the way she intended it to… I was worried she’d get hurt if it kept zapping or something. I dunno, sorry you have to deal with me and not her though,” the hawk said sheepishly, before looking away.

Infinite hadn’t noticed how sensitive Jet was until now, at least when it came to Wave. “Are you two…?” he asked cautiously, which earned him a glare in response. “Don’t be fucking weird, she’s basically my big sister, y’know, an  _ adult _ ? I wouldn’t even date her if it were legal, that’s incest for me,” the bird snapped, anger only fading when he heard Wave shift again in her sleep, worrying he woke her.

“Oh… I’m sorry, I was just curious. You do care about her though, and I’m grateful for your decision to watch me for her.” Infinite said encouragingly, hoping to deescalate the situation; “Wave needs the sleep anyways.”

Jet was humiliated from his outburst, and decided now would be the time to test his luck since the jackal was in a compromised state; “Can I call you Finn?”

Silence. When he was about the backtrack, the hawk looked up to reassure Infinite that it was just a suggestion, but was surprised to see he wasn’t mad, simply confused.

“Well, we can’t keep referring to you as Infinite, because that will blow your cover… you need a new identity, right?” he explained, but the jackal still wasn’t following. 

Sighing, he continued, “We’re the only ones who know your true identity, like, without the mask! We can’t deadname you, but I’m not sure what your name was before you became Infinite and I didn’t want to ask, so I figured Finn would be unassuming… but I get that it’s stupid, sorry.”

Infinite didn’t quite know how to respond, but took a moment to compose himself before answering, “You can call me Finn, if you want. I like the name, a lot actually” he croaked, wincing when his voice cracked.

_ “Are you about to cry over a goddamn name? _ ” the ominous voice asked, returning briefly only to tease the jackal.

Jet blushed from the positive affirmation, and decided now would be an appropriate time to boast, “I’m the best at giving people names, but I think ‘Jet’ takes the cake considering it’s the coolest name ever, right?”

_ What is that supposed to-- oh… OH. _ Infinite realized, but decided not to pry; “I mean, Infinite wasn’t too bad, was it? I didn’t have a name before, so it was my first attempt at choosing one.”

The hawk sighed in relief at the unspoken mutual understanding, “Yeah, you did alright. Too bad it’s tainted now, so you’ll have to go by Finn...” he noted.

Maybe it was the painkillers, but Finn thought this was an endearing moment, and offered Jet a haphazard first bump of solidarity for choosing their own names, only to notice the awful stitching that ran up his forearm.

He felt like he was going to pass out, or throw up, but most likely both. When his panic increased to an unstable condition, the blaring noises from the machines matched with the electric bracelet Jet wore were enough to wreak havoc, the jackal unable to control his downward spiral as dizziness plagued him.

“Hey, hey Finn, listen to me… hey it’s okay...shh. Wave had to graft some skin for your chest since the ruby damaged too much… She lasered out extra skin to lower the risk of remnants being left behind. It’ll look fine in the end, I had a graft done too, see?” Jet frantically reassured, concerned for the jackal’s wellbeing as well as the noise level which could potentially wake Wave. 

Finn focused on the bird's arm, hoping it would calm him down in the process. He almost didn’t notice it, but after enough staring he was able to see a faint scar beneath green flame tattoos, the line identical to the one on his arm. 

Thankfully, this was enough to settle the commotion, and both mobians were grateful for the relative silence. 

“Oh. Uh, okay. What did you need yours for?” he asked weakly, opting to lay back down.

Jet squeaked at the question, essentially saying he preferred not to answer, and Finn apologized for prying in the first place. 

After enjoying the silence for a moment or two, the jackal decided to test his luck with another question; “Are you guys keeping my true identity a secret?” 

“Yeah, Shadow too. None of us will benefit from snitching, since we’re also criminals! The only difference is that we’ve saved the world a couple times so it cancels out. Shadow is only a government agent because they’ll target him if he isn’t, trust me. If there’s one person who is more ACAB than us, it would be  _ that _ guy.”

Finn raised an eyebrow at the hawk’s explanation of Shadow’s morality, but appreciated the anti-cop sentiment regardless of the hedgehog’s association with the movement, “Are you suggesting that I have to save the world? From what threat?”

Jet laughed and shrugged before replying, “Once you associate with Sonic or his friends, even just once, you get roped up into all of their schemes and shenanigans… which is why I’m glad we have a blimp! They can’t make us choose sides in a war we decided to fly over,” he boasted.

The jackal let out a rough cough before groaning, the stabbing sensation he felt in his sides was unpleasant to say the least. His pained expression was enough to remind the hawk of what had happened during his surgery, and did his best to remember the summary Wave told him.

“Oh, the ribs are going to feel wonky at first because they haven’t merged with your DNA yet, it should take a few days. Between the stem cells and the reshaping work Wave did, you should be functioning normally in about a week, but that’s a rough projection that will vary depending on how well Shadow’s regenerative powers transfer.” the bird explained, hoping he relayed the correct information. 

Finn did his best to comprehend the meaning those words entailed, but all he heard was ‘regenerative powers’ and assumed that if it worked in  _ Doctor Who _ , it was plausible enough to work for himself.

Jet smiled and grabbed his switch from the floor to continue playing, muting the sound completely this time, “Go back to sleep for now, okay? I’m not sure how the recovery process works in terms of Black Arms DNA, but resting helps in most cases.”

Finn smiled through his yawn, which caught the bird off guard because of how blatantly adorable it was. He resisted the urge to coo or make a sappy comment, and only allowed himself to look back up when the jackal was surely asleep, as dictated by his heavy breathing. 

He took a quick selfie with the sleeping criminal before giggling, thinking that there was no way in hell Finn was a bad person at this point in time, just a damaged one. But Jet knew a thing or two about damaged people, and figured that they had done the right thing by helping him.

“You’re a good friend Finn, I hope you use this second chance to prove it to everyone else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awe, there you have it folks! I can finally start referring to Infinite as Finn, something I've been struggling to hide up until now! I'm not sure if anyone else uses "Finn" instead of Infinite, but it's something I started doing when I played the game and it really grew on me. It's a name I love a lot because I grew up watching Glee, but I also think it suits our edgelord for some reason. I know his concept name was Zero but I think it's kinda stupid to refer to him as his concept name.
> 
> To clarify though, in my little "cinematic universe" Finn didn't have a name, and when he "recreated himself" he came up with Infinite as a result of his power, but was simply referred to as "Boss" or other nicknames which I can't give away yet. The reason behind this is something explored in the future of the fic, so I hope Finn is a good enough name for everyone :)
> 
> I might have the next chapter up soon as well because it's also super short, but who knows!
> 
> Take care everyone,
> 
> Izzie <3


	8. Chapter 7: Putting a Spin on Never Ever Getting Rid of Me, Egg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! This is the second short chapter I was referring to, I think it adds nice filler to flesh out the narrative, but it does include important details and interactions! The following chapter is quite long in comparison (maybe not as bad as Avalanche and Nobody which were once the same chapter but still long!) so it will take a bit longer, but I'm sure it will also be up soon :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Putting a Spin on Never Ever Getting Rid of Me, Egg:

_ “Mara—“ _

_ “Don’t call me that, you know better than to change my name to fit your needs, especially in such a condescending way.” _

_ He looked down guiltily, realizing what he had done. “I’m sorry,” he sniffed, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand, yelping when the scab on his lid broke.  _

_ She sighed, pressing her hand to the wound, hoping Eteri would be back home soon with gauze.  _

_ “Will there ever be a day where you don’t get yourself in trouble?” Tamar asked in vain.  _

_ His nose wrinkled at the comment, “This wasn’t my fault though, so why am I to blame?” _

_ “I’ll take that as a no then,” she replied dismissively, which only made the young jackal pout more.  _

_ “I won’t always be around to clean up your messes, Ara. You need to learn how to stay out of trouble on your own, or pray there’s someone else willing to put up with you.”  _

——

Finn woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air like someone had choked him. He has been in quite a deep sleep, but something jolted him awake, the jittery feeling in his bones lingering as he calmed himself down. 

When he scanned the room, the jackal noted that both Jet and Wave were asleep, and smirked when his eyes fell on the hawk. Jet was miraculously still holding his Switch despite being asleep, laying down on the workbench beside Finn’s cot. 

The jackal was surprised to see the screen had been repaired, which meant that Wave had woken up sometime when he was asleep to repair it, before going back to her chair. 

_ Damn, she doesn’t stop for anything, _ he thought to himself in amazement. The swallow was certainly absorbed in her work, which was both admirable and concerning. 

Just as he was relaxed enough to fall back asleep, Finn noticed a familiar silhouette from afar, and felt his nerves take control of him again. 

“Good, you’re awake. I won’t be here during the daytime, so we need to have this conversation now,” Shadow said, voice low and monotonous as he approached the jackal. 

Finn didn’t like the cold tone, and was embarrassed when his heart monitor began beeping at a much faster rate, something the hedgehog noticed immediately. 

Shadow eyed him skeptically, glancing back and forth between the screen and Finn, “Really? You’d think the valium would calm you down, not cause paranoia.”

“Well, there are better ways to start a conversation with someone who just woke up abruptly after a DIY chest surgery,” he snapped, trying to justify his anxiety. 

The hedgehog sighed and noted the empty folding chair, pulling it towards Finn’s unoccupied bedside (since the workbench took up the entire length of the other side) only to sit down grudgingly, preferring to stand but figuring the jackal was uncomfortable with his standoffishness. 

“Better now?” Shadow huffed, crossing his arms and leaning back into the chair. Finn snickered at how uncomfortable the hedgehog looked and nodded, curious about what he had come to say. 

Shadow wouldn’t admit it, but he was pleased with how easy it was to calm the jackal down, even if it was doing something he wasn’t particularly fond of. “I’m going to start by saying I have to inform Rouge of what we’re doing. I know you two got along in a respectable manner while she worked undercover with Robotnik, but that doesn’t mean she’ll approve of how I handled your situation.” 

Finn perked up when Shadow mentioned the bat, someone he had actually gotten along with considerably well during the war, but not enough to consider each other friends— especially since she was a spy. He was surprised though, to learn that the hedgehog was close with her. 

“You’re friends with Rouge?” he inquired, annoying the hedgehog with his inability to focus on the important parts of what he said. “Yes,” Shadow started, “her and I are very close acquaintances. She knows when I’m lying, so there’s no way I can avoid telling her everything.”

Finn smirked, and opened his mouth to pry more into Shadow’s personal life, but was unfortunately stopped before he had the chance to ask, “No, she’s not my girlfriend.” 

The jackal frowned at the abrupt answer, but took secret pride in knowing that the question was something he got asked a lot, and that it annoyed him, “Damn, you’re really missing out, must suck.” 

Shadow glared in response, “No, her and I aren’t each other’s type, for your information.” 

“So, what  _ is _ your type then?”

“Enough. I don’t have time for small-talk, can we discuss this later, by which I mean never.”

Finn cackled at how frustrated the hedgehog was getting, covering his mouth so as to not wake the sleeping birds. “Go on, but I’m not letting you off that easy.” 

Shadow mumbled something incoherently before continuing, “Rouge isn’t going to let me off that easy, since she’s a more loyal agent to G.U.N. for legal reasons, and is perpetually annoyed everytime I breach my contract. However, I know that they’ll fail to contain you and then send me to find you again, so I’d rather just deal with you myself. I won’t give up on fighting this, I want to do this right.” 

The jackal’s breathing hitched at the comment, taken aback by Shadow’s determination. “Are you sure about that…?” He asked quietly, trying to hide the excitement in his voice. 

“Positive, you’re my responsibility now. I’m living proof that G.U.N. is full of shit when it comes to capturing Sonic’s antagonists, and now you have my DNA which is something I and only I know enough about to control you,” Shadow stated without hesitating. 

Finn perked up at the mention of the blue hedgehog, “How is Sonic anyways?” 

Shadow was at a loss for words, unable to think of an appropriate answer. “Don’t misinterpret what I said, Infinite. You’ll end up in G.U.N’s control eventually, but not until I figure out your weaknesses and report back to Rouge.” 

“I mean, I’m barely alive now, I think my limitations are pretty clear,” Finn deadpanned, but unfortunately the hedgehog didn’t find any humour in his comment. 

“You have my DNA, plus remnants of the phantom ruby prototype. If you were a threat before, you’re calamitous now,” he growled, starting to get frustrated with the jackal. 

Finn began to regret his snarkiness, noting how serious Shadow got all of a sudden. Mere days ago, he would rejoice if the hedgehog considered himself dangerously powerful, but it was beginning to feel like more of a burden. 

“I mean,” he began hesitantly, “If you kicked my ass that easily before, you can do it again no problem. I don’t plan on rebelling or causing any harm, unless you count destroying the carpets on this ship which I seem to have a horrible relationship with. You probably won’t believe me, but my ego is still a little bruised from losing to a kid with a wisp gun of all things, I don’t think I’ll be planning a counterattack anytime soon.” 

Finn was taken aback by his own transparency, as was Shadow. “Oh, I suppose that makes sense. Still, you’re probably more of a danger to yourself at the moment, and we can’t imprison you if you‘re dead,” the hedgehog said awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to such a blatant admittal of defeat. 

The two stared at each other for a moment, mutually uncomfortable since the conversation had walked itself into a corner. 

“We’re keeping your inhibitor rings on until we can test your abilities in a safe, removed environment. I need to monitor you long term, but Wave has to run a few more tests first so I know what I’m working with. There will be training, and you’re not permitted out of my sight until you’re imprisoned,” Shadow continued hesitantly, breaking eye contact to check his communicator. 

Finn shrugged, “Deal. Not like I have the option to disagree, but I’ll be compliant.” His words were empty, and the cold, professional tone of the conversation was slowly destroying his spirits. 

The hedgehog took note of the subtle withdrawal, and softened a little. “ _ He isn’t listening to you because he agrees, but because he knows he doesn’t have a choice,”  _ the voice returned to say, having this realization at the same time as Shadow. 

“Look, get that I’m not exactly the most pleasant person to be around, you knew that from the day you met me. But if you cooperate… maybe it won’t be so bad. I don’t want to use the word ‘fun’ but I’m sure we can come to some kind of compromise,” he offered, refusing to look up and acknowledge whatever Finn’s reaction was. 

The jackal opened his mouth to respond, but Shadow was already getting up to leave, turning and walking away quickly without a goodbye. Finn felt his stomach lurch when the hedgehog teleported away, but didn’t think much of it. 

He sighed, looking back over at Jet to cheer himself up with the amusing feat, only to discover that the bird had dropped his device— it shattered again. 

Finn closed his eyes and used all his strength to force himself to sleep as quickly as possible. Dread pooled in his stomach, the awful feeling making him desperate to lose consciousness so he could forget this whole conversation. 

The universe pitied his weakness, and decided to grant his wish just this once, choosing to be his enemy no longer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I sure love seeing my faves interact! Considering the fic is about Shadow and Infinite, I'd assume you enjoyed it too :) Yeah it's a bit angsty, but that's a part of the redemption arc package, my bad, aha. I promise things will get funnier later on, I'm better with humour than I am with writing angst because I never take things seriously, so I hope everyone is prepared for more awful jokes later!
> 
> Also, I added a little doodle of Finn to the first chapter that I made when my wifi was down and I had to wait to post this chapter! I'm not very good at drawing Sonic characters because I prefer drawing people, but I think I did an okay job! It's a bit of a spoiler since it's his final design for the end of the fic, but he's so cute I can't resist drawing my redesign, take a look if ya want :") 
> 
> Take care everyone, 
> 
> Izzie <3


	9. Chapter 8: Lemons in Chamomile, The Accidentals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I am SO sorry this chapter is late!!! I wish I could have been more active during my fall term, but COVID has been draining all my writing spirit. Still, I wanted a chapter up before the year ended, so I hope this will do!
> 
> In my rush to post this however, I got no one to proof read so it is probably filled with errors. Sorry about that! I’ll go back and fix things when I notice them a day from now or something, haha. 
> 
> I might be able to get a few more chapters up before I go back to school, but I promise this fic is not abandoned! This chapter was just very draining to write, it has taken literal months to get it done and even now it’s a bit too shabby for my taste. 
> 
> Anyways, enough rambling! We’re off to the next chapter:

Lemons and Chamomile, The Accidentals:

“You’re alive! Holy shit!” 

If Finn was asleep, he sure as hell wasn’t anymore! The shrill excitement coming from the other mobian in the room was the worst type of alarm, and he was beginning to see how being awoken by birds in real life was nothing like how it’s portrayed in movies. 

Wave was ready to celebrate with the jackal until she noticed that Jet was still curled up uncomfortably, his Switch discarded on the ground. “He’s going to wake up in so much pain… give me a second.” 

She scooped the hawk up and tossed him over her shoulder like he weighed nothing, and placed him on the workshop bed over by her desk, which Finn only noticed now. 

_Did neither of them think to sleep there instead of in chairs? Or were they too focused on your well-being?_ the voice asked Finn, who was just as flabbergasted. 

When she returned, Wave was already munching on a bagel, and had a cup with a straw prepared for Finn. “Gingerale has magic healing powers, so I want you to drink all of it— the bagel is mine but I’m willing to give you half if you think you can stomach it.” 

The jackal narrowed his eyes at the straw, and began to mumble incoherently about how straws were for incompetent drinkers, but reluctantly took a sip only surprised at how good it tasted, cooling his sore throat. 

“You seem pretty stable, it’s almost worrying how well you’re doing. This shouldn’t happen, but I’m glad I pulled this off!” Wave explained while eating loudly, which made Finn’s ears flatten. It was probably his biggest pet peeve, but he tried to distract himself by blowing bubbles in his cup. 

The bird flicked his forehead in response, which made Finn snarl. 

“What the fuck was that for?”

“Mind your manners, blowing bubbles is inconsiderate.”

“So is chewing loudly.” 

“Fine, you try chewing so it masks the sound of mine.”

“It doesn’t work that way.” 

“ _Try it_ , then tell me your invalid opinions.” 

Wave broke off a piece of her bagel, and held it in front of his mouth. Finn’s instinct was to bite her fingers, but remembered that this was an extremely childish debate and he should probably just listen to the girl. 

He struggled to chew since his jaw ached and his mouth was dry, but the jackal simply drank more gingerale to help wash it down. The sad part was that the bagel probably tasted really good, but everything Finn consumed tasted like liquid glue, coating his mouth with an ugly aftertaste.

Wave’s eyes glossed over her phone before panicking at the amount of notifications she had missed, snatching the device from the side table to begin frantically typing. As she wrote however, her anxieties ceased, and she seemed to return to normal-- all while Finn watched warily. 

“Who are you texting?” he asked, raising an eyebrow when she giggled. Wave looked up only to snap back to her more rigid demeanor. “It’s none of your business,” she huffed, which only made him choke on his drink in amusement.

“You definitely have a crush on whoever that is, just saying,” he rasped out, before aggressively clearing his throat. It felt like the same piece of bagel was glued to the side of his esophagus, but the gingerale did nothing to help wash it down, only adding to the lump. Still, he was determined to make Wave more uncomfortable than himself, and it appeared to be working.

She looked slightly concerned at the state of the jackal, but as per usual, masked it with annoyance; “You deserve that, you little shit… I kept you in this world, but I can take you out just as quickly.”

Finn didn’t believe it for a second. Still, he kept quiet and watched the bird smugly, satisfied with having gotten under her skin. After enough silence though, he began to worry that this was overstepping, and that he had actually gone and pissed her off.

“I’m just teasing ya… but I won’t say anything to Jet or Storm— your internet joyfriend can be our little secret!” he told her with a wink, which made the girl look up again.

Wave eyed him defensively, “What makes you think that this is personal? I’m messaging someone who owes me a favour…”

‘Oh, a booty call! Sure, whatever you do in your free time is your choice.”

“For _work_ , Finn.”

“Whatever you say, you fuckin’ simp.”

Wave balled up the bagel bag and whipped it at him in playful anger, but the jackal’s body did not take too kindly to the surprise attack, and was winded by the impact. Finn may have felt like shit, but the look of horror on Wave’s face was enough to make him laugh, which was unfortunately not good or helpful in any way for his recovery process. 

“I warned you, I can kill you anytime,” she teased, only relaxing when Finn’s coughing ceased into small laughs. “Then do it already,” he countered quietly, only half kidding.

She looked at him curiously, “It would be a waste of all our effort… and Shadow would kill me.” 

Finn visibly perked up at the mention of the hedgehog before deflating, remembering the events of last night. “ _He’s not possessive because he cares, it’s because you’re a war criminal that he’s responsible for”_ the voice reminded, or was it him saying it?

“So, who’s the guy? Or gal? Or other, I guess?” Finn tried to ask casually, but his convoluted pronoun spiral lost its intended effect. 

“What?”

“Look, heteronormativity is stupid and gender is an illusion, I just want to know the details. I’ve been villaining for so long I forget what normal people get up to, _indulge me_ ,” he practically begged. 

Wave raised an eyebrow at the comment, but was smiling regardless. “I’m talking to a guy, yeah. Not my initial preference but he’s the same way, so it cancels out.” 

Finn beamed at the soft outing, and shifted to his side to face the girl better, “But you met through business? Is he shady? Do I know him?” 

“What is this, 21 questions?” the swallow snapped, before noting how possessive the jackal was. _He actually cares?_

He began to realize how annoying the questioning could be, and opened his mouth to apologize, but Wave cut him off before he could say anything. 

“I’m the shady one here, he’s actually far from it in terms of his job. I did an emergency repair upon request during the war, and we have a similar family situation, so I guess we bonded over that?” the swallow elaborated, albeit nervously. 

Finn was actively listening, and Wave could not have felt more uncomfortable. It wasn’t his fault, she was grateful for his attentiveness— it was just… unfamiliar territory on an unfamiliar subject. 

The jackal was hesitant, but figured his intended question was harmless; “What do you mean by family situation?”

Wave nodded, aware of how vague that generalization was; “I'm protective over my boys, even though I tease them a lot. I guess I use my intellectual advantage over them to make shitty comments as a way of getting back at them… I think I grew up too fast. Storm was always getting into fights at clubs, and Jet’s transition was—” she spiralled before stopping abruptly to pinch her beak. 

Finn didn’t flinch at the sudden vent, opting to wait patiently as she regained her composure. He did however, continue to nibble on his portion of the bagel, pulling his legs in so he could rest his chin on his knees. 

“Sorry, I talk too fast sometimes and have to catch myself, moreso for your sake. Anyways, they both take up most of my time, so I guess it’s nice talking to someone who is also absorbed in helping their family 24/7. I wouldn’t have it any other way though, is that weird?”

He pondered the question for a moment before responding; “I mean yeah, a little. You should probably take more time for yourself, but I guess you’re so conditioned to not having freedom that you rely on micromanaging to keep busy all the time. Take baby steps towards balance, there’s no rush. Maybe just try doing something for yourself everyday, even if it’s small.”

When Wave didn’t respond, the jackal started to regret saying anything, which was becoming a frequent occurrence. He was about to elaborate more and correct himself, but as per usual, she began speaking again after an uncomfortable pause. 

“You’re right, I don’t like it when I have undesignated time. I guess that’s something I have to work on,” she admitted, softly— almost defeatedly. 

Accepting criticism didn’t appear to be her strong suit, but she seemed to like what Finn had said, or at least agreed with it. “Thank you, I needed this,” Wave added, offering him a small smile. 

Finn laughed nervously and looked away, embarrassed; “It's nothing, but take it with a grain of salt: I’m not exactly the poster boy for good decision making,” he added, before gesturing to his chest. 

“That’s why I like it though, you’re not acting like you’re superior to me, and you aren’t forcing your opinion on me. It’s… nice. Us Rogues are too arrogant to accept advice from one another, I guess I needed someone new to tell me that, so thanks, really.”

He only got more flustered at the comment and looked away again, clearing his throat to hide the smile on his face and move on from this sappy conversation. 

My

“So uh, any updates post surgery I should know about?”

Wave followed suit and snapped back into her arrogant demeanour, before answering Finn’s question; “Well, I had to redo the DNA test in case the donor ribs modified the results, so it should be finished by tomorrow. However, your chaos energy levels have risen substantially, so I’m sure a lot of things are different now.” she explained, which was unfortunately not enough of an answer. 

“Sorry for asking, but what the hell is chaos energy?” 

“How slow are you? Even Storm knows about chaos energy… to a certain extent.” Wave scolded, mumbling the last bit. 

Finn got defensive at the comment for multiple reasons, but opted to defend himself over Storm; “Excuse me? Some of us lived outside of society for most of our lives, I only started to learn about the real world when I was 15! It’s not my fault for being out of touch,” he spluttered. 

Wave instinctively rolled her eyes, but elaborated, “All mobians have chaos energy, it's just this stuff that connects you to Chaos… you know, the god? Anyways, it’s usually low levels that have little to no effect, but some people have a lot more than others. Hedgehogs are the most prone to high levels, but since Shadow was created to host the maximum capacity for chaos energy, the surplus probably made its way into you with the transplant.” 

Finn took a moment to process what Wave was saying, but remembered the conversation he had with Shadow that night, who mentioned something about his modified DNA. 

“Is that… dangerous?” He asked quietly. 

Wave thought for a moment about how to answer that, but cautiously proceeded;

“Well yes, but actually no. You are a hazard, but those rings are keeping almost everything contained right now. You’ll probably have to learn how to deal with the excess energy like Shadow does, since only he’d know what to do. Hell, he’s already an intergalactic threat without using most of his energy, I wouldn’t want to be around if he took those rings off!” she joked casually, but Finn only felt worse. 

_“He’s already that dangerous without using his full power? And to think I thought he was easy,”_ he sulked, recalling his first encounter with Shadow. 

Wave was oblivious to the jackal’s inner turmoil and continued to talk about the hedgehog, “Oh! He had to go sort some work stuff out, sorry I was supposed to let you know. He’ll be back sometime tomorrow, since you’ll probably be good to go by then.”

_“He doesn’t want to stick around you any longer than he has to, think about that. Shadow has to babysit you from now on, and before he’s even started he already needs a break,”_ the voice teased, leaving Finn nauseated with guilt. 

Still, he knew that talking about the mysterious voice in his head with Wave would get him thrown back in the scanning pod, so the jackal tried to brush it off. “Ah… right. I think he came to see me last night, but it could have been a dream. I guess that’s fair, can’t keep him around all the time, that’s overkill.”

Wave noticed the slight change in tone, and couldn’t help but tease the jackal; “Awe, that’s adorable! You miss him, don’t you? Don’t worry, I won’t say anything, nobody has to know you have a crush on the Ultimate Lifeform.”

“Shut the fuck up, I _do not_ like him. I just want to make sure I don’t cough and blow up your ship with my unstable chaos level vibe things… or whatever.”

“Mhm, sure. Everyone’s had a crush on him, don’t lie about it.”

Finn pretended not to tense when the swallow made that comment, what the hell was that for? He wasn’t jealous or anything, but it’s not like she was right either— he did _not_ have a crush on Shadow: he hardly knew the guy! 

He decided to change the subject to something that was still bothering him from before, since this conversation was going nowhere; “Jet mentioned something about choosing his own name, and claimed to be good at naming other people, which is why I’m Finn now. Jackals choose their own name for the most part, or change them later on in life— is it the same for Babylonians? Or…” 

“We take a lot of pride in our birth names, so it’s rare for us to change them. Tradition is important, but his happiness is above all else, and I’m glad he knows that. Finn has a nice ring to it though, I like it! Not super creative, but it’s the thought that counts. If you want to keep it, then keep it.”

Wave’s expression was unreadable, but both her and the jackal understood the subtext of the conversation. 

“Would you be opposed to telling me more about Babylonian tradition or mythology? If it’s too personal I understand, I just figured that—“ Finn started, but had unknowingly walked into dangerous territory. 

The swallow was already standing in presentation mode and fiddling with her necklace, and was already pulling up files upon files of data. Finn was floored at how Wave managed to implement technology everywhere, and was beginning to believe there wasn’t a device the Rogues don’t have. 

“You see, the Babylonians are from another world, some place I haven’t located yet. Our culture always considered us divine beings, but recent archaeological discoveries hint at us being extraterrestrial lifeforms. Anyways, whether it be a “fall from grace” or a crash-landing on Earth… we ended up here. Our ancestors were unable to reassemble their ship, but not too long ago we managed to find the Ark of the Cosmos and repair Babylon Garden!”

Wave paused, her enthusiasm halting once she reached this point. The jackal was fascinated by the lore even if it was overwhelming and very expositional, but he began to worry that he overstepped by asking— she did not seem ready for this conversation. 

Even so, the swallow was stubborn, and pushed her way through the reluctant pause; “It created a black hole. There’s no way we can destroy the planet and fly away just to return to wherever we came from, that’s selfish even for our standards.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She shrugged sheepishly at the question, “I won’t deny that we’re arrogant pricks who take what we want when we want no matter the repercussions, generosity is not in our nature. The Babylon Rogues have only survived this long because we don’t do nice things for others, only each other. We’re absolute doormats to other Babylonians, but the rest of the world is merely a stepping stone.”

Finn wasn’t surprised based on his knowledge of the group, but had no ill feelings towards this mentality. 

“I’m the same way, don’t worry about it: I was a mercenary after all. I suppose your type of crime is different from mine, but it’s always about money and going with what brings in the most cash regardless of morals. It’s about surviving, and protecting only those closest to you,” he reminisced, the bittersweet recollection of his old life creeping up on the jackal. 

Wave smiled at the nostalgia, before the connection clicked in her mind; “Wait a damn minute, you did work for us before! Squad Jackal, right?”

He smirked at the bird’s connection, and beamed a little from the acknowledgement; “I see you remember my glory days, when I still had my squad… I wonder where they are now.”

The mood shifted once more, and Finn found himself feeling defeated by yet another wrong decision he had made in his life. 

“What happened to them?” Wave asked quietly, while avoiding eye contact. She knew it had to do with Eggman, but a small part of her felt responsible.

_“Well, you abandoned them for starters. If they’re still alive, they probably hate you_ ,” the voice commentated, which was not appreciated by any means. 

Finn did his best to ignore the fact that the voice was making valid points, and opted to answer Wave to the best of his ability; “I thought they were dead up until a few days ago, apparently Shadow didn’t kill them. They probably split our earnings and went off to do their own things individually, but I’m just thinking out loud— I honestly don’t have the slightest clue. The only place I know they’d avoid is our home…” he trailed off. 

Wave reached out to comfort the jackal, but was startled by the beeping her necklace was making before she got the chance. She immediately panicked at the caller ID, and motioned for Finn to stay quiet. He was too lost in thought to object anyways, but the newfound tension still made him uneasy. 

“Are you able to unlock the main door by any chance? My apologies; I know I'm early but the resistance meeting ended sooner than expected, so I figured it wouldn’t be a problem if I stopped by sooner— I tried to call Jet, but he appears to be offline. You’ve been parked here since Tuesday, but I understand if you’re leaving soon, or if you’re busy with incoming events, or if you forgot, which is completely understandable, we’re in the aftermath of a war after all, but… I’m… rambling again, aren’t I?” 

The caller’s voice was oddly familiar to Finn, perhaps too familiar. However, he was more distracted by Wave’s frantic movements as she attempted to shift all her medical equipment back into the storage room, which was not a good sign by any means.

Her voice was raised in pitch and quite airy, but the nervous laughter was a clear indicator that this was the same person she had been texting.

“It’s totally fine, don’t worry about it-- rambling is my speciality! I’m so sorry Esp, I got super into modding my board and lost track of time. I’ll be over in like, five minutes?”

“ _Uh oh, that doesn’t sound good,”_ the voice mumbled to Finn, which was out of character and particularly offsetting. The jackal didn’t like the creature that was pestering him by any means, but their distress was not beneficial.

“There’s no rush Wave, I should have confirmed with you first. Take your time, okay?”

Wave continued to scurry around, now focused on unhooking Finn from his cot; “Don’t worry about it! I just need to turn my welder off, and then I’ll be over. Maybe send Storm a message, he should be done his workout by now and can let you in. Jet is passed out after playing Smash Ultimate all night, that’s why he never answered.”

The lack of medical support was beginning to creep up on the jackal, but he closed his eyes to minimize dizziness as Wave sat him on the floor, shoving the entire cot set-up into storage with the rest of the equipment.

“Roger that, I’ll see you in a bit then,” the voice confirmed, before hanging up. 

After letting out a sigh of relief, the bird immediately started panicking again; “Fuck! I have to hide you somewhere, this ship might be pretty big but it’s still hard to hide people; we could hardly handle Metal during the war. Text Shadow for me, okay?” she commanded, chucking her phone at Finn.

He wasn’t sure what to say to the hedgehog, but ended up typing a hefty paragraph that he ultimately deleted, opting for a simple ‘SOS: Finn problem’.

_“What was that about Metal?!”_ the voice snapped, but Finn was too fixated on himself to ask questions for the being that tortured his psyche. 

“I thought you said nobody would recognize me without my mask… why do I have to hide all of a sudden?” Finn asked, inhaling sharply as Wave pulled him up and began dragging him out of the workshop. 

She rolled her eyes and gave him a onceover before sighing aggressively, “Have you seen yourself recently? Severe chest wound, and the only known jackal in the area? Espio isn’t stupid, and he’ll also vibe check the hell out of you and make the connection regardless of cosmetics. He has this weird sixth sense, I don’t have time to explain it, you just need to get lost or we’re all dead.” 

Oh, so that’s who this was about. 

“This is... resistance member Espio? The lawful good ninja? The one who has killer aim, a shit ton of weapons, and zero mercy?”

“Yes, that’s the one.”

“And you didn’t think to disclose that earlier, when you were being all sappy?”

“Look Finn, it didn’t cross my mind that you’d be _encountering him post-op_ , or that you’d even be here in the first place. Just stay quiet and try not to cause problems.”

“You’re sacrificing me for a _date_!?”

“It’s not a date, it’s about things that don’t concern you.”

“So, it’s a date.”

“I will kick your knees in right now, kay?”

“Bold of you to assume I can feel any of my limbs right now…”

Their hushed bickering echoed through the corridors, which were growing darker and less maintained as they walked deeper into the heart of the Babylonian ship. Finn was in so much pain that his senses were numb, but he would rather rationalize this moment later than get decapitated by a shuriken star immediately after surviving an extensive, improvised surgery. 

Wave stopped abruptly and began tugging at one of the wall panels, and the jackal was sure that he had lost his mind completely. However, after an uncomfortable minute of strained pulling, the panel slid aside to reveal a door. 

“What the _fuck_ is going on Wave, why is there a secret tunnel in your flying house?”

“Not the time Finn, we’ll address this later,” she scolded while casually doing a retina scan to unlock the door. Under normal circumstances, this passage would not be revealed to an outsider like Finn, but desperate times called for ex-machina levels of compromise. 

As the jackal was dragged into the forbidden storage room, he took note of what was being kept here, and slowly felt more at home. “So the Babylon Rogues are also a drug cartel, who would have guessed?”

Wave rolled her eyes, but settled Finn in the corner with a rather flat pillow and a blanket; “We prefer the term commodity traders, since we do more than just this. But yeah, Storm and I handle this side hustle ourselves, since we’re not entitled to any of the Rogue’s fortune.” she explained quietly. 

_“Who would trust that idiot with a secret this big?”_ the voice asked skeptically. 

Finn settled into his new resting place, which was cold and uncomfortable. Sitting in a dusty storage room was probably a horrible idea for someone who was still in recovery, but it was the best place to be right now so he wasn’t picky. 

“Help yourself to whatever you want if you’re into that, just don’t OD or anything. This room is completely inaccessible and all signals are blocked, so you’ll be safe from Espio, but also unable to reach us,” the girl explained slowly, before holding Finn’s face in her hands. 

He almost shied away from the contact, but the swallow’s warm fingers were the only comforting thing in the room at the moment. 

Wave smiled sadly at the reaction, and continued to rub beneath the jackal’s eyes with her thumbs; “Just take a nap, I promise it’ll all be okay. Shadow’s going to make his way over, but for now just keep busy and don’t make any noise or try to leave. The door will be unlocked so Shadow can get to you when he arrives, but that means Espio and Jet can also find you— neither of them can know about this place. I’ll check in after okay?”

She gave Finn a very gentle hug, and the jackal felt his soul die a little from the affection.

However, before he could even utter a thank you, Wave was already out the door and on her way to distract the chameleon.

The painkillers were tempting, but he was too afraid of overdosing and opted to close his eyes instead.

Sleeping on the floor of a storage room on a blimp that belonged to alien birds after a chest operation sponsored by an immortal government weapon was not how he envisioned his future, but one ought not bite the hand that feeds them, so Finn settled for what he was given.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that ending sure as hell wasn’t rushed! The whole drug thing seems poorly written right now, I know, but it’s relevant later on I promise!
> 
> Yes it’s a cheesy chapter, but I feel like the song fits! I’ve decided to post the Spotify link for the series since I think it’s set in stone, you can access it here:
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7KabMGCzhe21A110mI0GNd?si=eFoy_2W9QxWNRu-rxOetJg
> 
> Note: don’t judge my Spotify! I’m just trying to have a good time :”)
> 
> Anyways, Happy New Year to everyone reading this at an applicable time; 2020 has been horrible, but we mustn’t forget the good things that have happened too, whether they be big or small.
> 
> I am very grateful for all the readers here who have kept me motivated to continue this fic, and for the fandom as a whole. You’re all the best!
> 
> Take care everyone, and Happy New Year!
> 
> -Izzie <3


	10. Chapter 9: Stay, Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry again for the delayed posting, we're almost at the one year anniversary of this fic and it's not even a quarter done yet! Hell, the main plot hasn't even started! Still, I technically promised slow burn so this isn't inherently false advertising... anyways. I have a bonus chapter planned as an apology after this one, so that should be up relatively soon (in comparison to prior hiatuses) but I also don't want to rush it!
> 
> There is some morse code in this chapter and some of it is translated, but there is one chunk that I left ambiguous. It's an Easter Egg I guess, so feel free to look up what it says in a translator online. Also, I've been uploading these without proofreading or asking my ghostreaders so if you see any typos let me know and I'll update :")
> 
> Happy Reading!

Stay, Rihanna ft Mikky Ekko 

  
  


After waking up at the beginning of each chapter for almost every installment so far, Finn was beginning to get tired of this trope, pun intended. 

However, the jackal was more surprised to hear shuffling from within the storage room, which was supposedly isolated from everywhere else on the Babylonian ship. His ears twitched and recognized the footsteps, but couldn’t determine who they belonged to. 

“ _It can’t be the ninja, that’s for certain— he wouldn’t be detectable,_ ” the voice assured, which was uncharacteristically helpful. 

“Thank you, that’s always good to know,” he said, acknowledging the voice out loud for the first time. He replied at barely above a whisper, as someone else was clearly in the room, but this was the closest Finn could get to being alone, and he was starting to believe that the ominous guide was not just a product of his imagination. 

The footsteps paused momentarily, and the jackal noted that they were now approaching him. He was tense, but it’s not like he could do much to prepare or defend himself regardless. 

He was _not_ expecting to be greeted by Metal Sonic. 

“Metal?! You… **_you_** _…_ Robotnik has been looking for you for over a year now, and you’ve _been with the_ _Babylon Rogues_?!” Finn narrowed his eyes in disbelief, scolding the replica hedgehog. 

The robot froze, almost sheepishly, and stared at the jackal in awe. It looked like he wanted to respond, but he had nothing to counter with. 

Finn began to realize that the conversation wasn’t going to progress unless he pressed further, but he was still flabbergasted by the turn of events. “We could have used you on our side is all I’m saying, I thought you wanted to destroy Sonic?”

.. / --- -. .-.. -.-- / -.-. .- .-. . / .- -... --- ..- - / -.. . ..-. . .- - .. -. --. / ... --- -. .. -.-. --..-- / -... ..- - / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-.. .-. . .- -.. -.-- / -.. .. -.. / - .... .- - .-.-.- / .-- .... .- - / . .-.. ... . / .-- .- ... / .. / ... ..- .--. .--. --- ... . -.. / - --- / -.. --- ..--..

“I uh, I don’t know morse code... sorry.” 

Metal Sonic narrowed his eyes, and began fidgeting with something on his neck. Finn watched silently as the bot struggled, with no clue how this would play out. 

“I only care about defeating Sonic, but you already did that. What else was I supposed to do?”

The jackal was slightly taken aback by the robot’s voice, but tried to focus on what was being asked of him. “We didn’t succeed at that for very long, you could have come back.” 

“Negative.”

This wasn’t going very far, was it? 

“I was the one who assisted in the Phantom Ruby’s removal. You should be grateful I was present and not with the Doctor, or you would be dead.” the robot explained in a hostile tone. 

Finn’s face scrunched up as he tried to recall any memories that could confirm this, but was distracted by a violent shudder that rendered him nauseous. “What the fuck what that just now? _Did you cause that?_ ” he asked, snapping at the robot. 

Metal Sonic shook his head, but eyed the jackal curiously. 

“I swear, it felt like my bones were vibrating... you’re sure it wasn’t you?”

Before the robot could suggest what the cause might be, the door to the storage room flew open, which made Finn jump out of his own skin, now on his feet. 

Shadow stood in the doorway awkwardly, eyes shifting from Metal, to Finn, and back to Metal again. 

“Am I interrupting something?” he asked cautiously, cutting the tension in the air. Finn was relieved to see a less intimidating familiar face, and calmed down a bit. 

Metal Sonic stared blankly at Finn, who shifted moods too many times in one encounter for his taste, and fiddled with his neck again. Shadow narrowed his eyes at the tic, and approached the robot with vigor before tilting his head up. 

“What’s this on your neck? Are you wearing a tracker?” Shadow asked, the protectiveness in his voice notable to even Finn, who had no clue what was going on at this point. He regretted standing up, but it would be too awkward to sit back down again, so he focused on a spot on the floor to keep himself from swaying too much. 

\- .... . / -- . -.-. .... .- -. .. -.-. / -.-. .-. . .- - . -.. / - .... .. ... / -.. . ...- .. -.-. . / ..-. --- .-. / -- . / ... --- / .. / -.-. .- -. / ... - .- -.-- / ..- -. -.. . - . -.-. - . -.. / -.. ..- .-. .. -. --. / - .... . / .-- .- .-. .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- / .. - / -.. --- ..- -... .-.. . ... / .- ... / .- / - .-. .- -. ... .-.. .- - --- .-. / ... --- / .. / -.-. .- -. / ... .--. . .- -.- / .. -. / - .... .. ... / ..-. --- .-. -- / .-- .. - .... --- ..- - / -.. .-. .- .. -. .. -. --. / -- -.-- / -... .- - - . .-. -.-- .-.-.-

“Ah, so it’s an anti-tracker then? I suppose it makes sense that Wave would give you that, blowing their cover wouldn’t be very considerate. Still, dispose of it before you go back— If you need an alibi, the story is that you were captured by G.U.N. as ransom for Omega, okay? ” 

Finn was surprised that Shadow could understand the beeping that the robot was making, but found their dynamic endearing nonetheless. 

When Metal didn’t respond to Shadow, his eyes widened slightly; “You are going back to the Doctor, right?”

No response. 

Shadow sighed and pulled back from the robot before turning to Finn, who was startled by the sour gaze; “Good to see you’re still alive, are you ready to return to the workshop?” 

“I mean, sure? As long as Espio is gone I don’t see a problem,” he responded while doing his best to make eye contact with the hedgehog.

Metal Sonic glanced at the jackal one more time, before turning around and continuing to stock shelves— apparently what he came into the room to do. 

Finn smiled sadly at the robot before making his way to the door, with Shadow following closely behind. The hedgehog seemed exhausted, especially after that encounter with Metal, but he pressed forward nonetheless. 

“I know you aren’t exactly a fan of the Doctor, but he gets lonely too. He created Metal, and they’re good to one another, so I really do hope he goes back.” Shadow explained quietly, refusing to look at the jackal when he spoke.

Finn nodded, “I hope so too, someone has to keep Eggman busy now that I’m gone.” He was still uneasy with how they left things on the battlefield, and ensuring that the villain moved on was his top priority.

Shadow noticed how forced Finn’s words were, but decided not to press on. “It’s probably uncomfortable to know that the person responsible for your well-being is an ally with all your enemies, but if I’m being honest, the only person I fully align my morals with is dead....”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, it’s fine. I’m more of a neutral person myself, or at least I was. Definitely peaked at indifference,” the jackal responded quickly, choosing to not comment on the latter portion of Shadow’s confession. 

The two continued to walk in silence, which was starting to eat away at Finn’s sanity. The hedgehog didn’t seem to be much of a talker, but filling all the silence seemed like the wrong move. Still, he did have something on his mind…

“Are we not going to address the fact Espio and Wave are totally a thing? How the hell did that happen?!”

Shadow coughed to hide his laugh, and cleared his throat before looking over at the jackal;

“That was entirely your fault, believe it or not.”

“Oh, you’re gonna have to elaborate on that one, _indulge me_.”

The hedgehog sighed exasperatedly, but couldn’t resist chuckling; “You decommissioned Omega, and Espio was given the task of finding someone to repair him. Tails was unable to do it, and regardless of the war Espio would do it himself to avoid asking Eggman for help… stubborn bastard. Anyways, he remembered the Rogues from when Vector raced them, asked me for their contact information, got Omega fixed, and turns out they have a lot in common! You’re a matchmaker and you didn’t even know it.”

The jackal stopped walking, and stared at the floor in disbelief. Shadow looked over to see what was wrong, and had to resist laughing at Finn’s dramatic moment of realization.

“I’ve doomed them both to heartbreak, and somehow my afterthought of destroying a robot is more successful at causing despair than starting a war…” he mumbled, which was hilarious yet pathetic. 

Shadow raised his brow at the mention of despair; “What do you mean, heartbreak? They’re literally the same person: the smartest members of their respective teams who give great advice but get neglected by cocky extroverted bosses, who are green… and they’re both purple! They should be fine?”

Finn looked up at the hedgehog who didn’t seem to catch on; “They’re on opposite sides of the moral spectrum, you dense motherfucker. One of them fought in a war while the other one used it to sell drugs. They’ll bond over experience but not lifestyle, and this is somehow more impactful than _me starting a war._ ”

Instead of getting offended by Finn’s outburst, the hedgehog laughed it off and shook his head, motioning for them to continue down the hall. “You’re such a theatre kid it hurts, come on. Morals don’t matchmake; you and I lean the same way on the moral chart but we’re also technically enemies, so it doesn’t always add up.” 

The jackal mumbled something under his breath, flustered from the comparison, but followed Shadow obediently and kept his thoughts to himself for once. 

When they arrived at the reassembled medical wing in Wave’s workshop, Finn noticed that the swallow was not present; “I thought you said Espio was gone?” he asked, trying to not sound jealous. 

Shadow snorted and shook his head, amused by the jackal’s possessiveness over the Rogues; “Yeah, and? Wave went with him. I’ll never understand how you bonded so quickly with her or any of the others for that matter, is that a jackal thing? Inserting yourself into other people’s families?” 

“That has nothing to do with it, how am I supposed to hook myself back up to these wire thingies? You’re overestimating my ability to give a shit about myself,” Finn snapped back, sitting on the edge of the cot and crossing his arms and legs with a pout. 

The hedgehog’s smile faltered, and soon enough he was scowling again. Why did Finn have to ruin everything? He sighed before walking up to the jackal, grabbing a stool with his foot and sitting down to face Finn; “I’ll do it, obviously.”

Finn tensed when Shadow grabbed his arm and tried to pull away, but the hedgehog’s firm grasp kept him still. 

“Are you a doctor or something?”

“No, but I’ve been in enough hospital rooms.”

The jackal laughed at that, too distracted to notice when Shadow inserted the IV needle; “You’re telling me someone is actually able to land damage on you? So much for being the Ultimate Lifeform.” 

Shadow tensed at the misunderstanding, but in all honesty he preferred it that way. “You’re almost done healing so we’ll leave tomorrow at around noon once Wave can read us the DNA results. Does that sound okay to you?” he asked while getting up to leave, deciding that hooking the jackal up to the other equipment would be redundant at this point.

“Where are you going?” Finn blurted out, not addressing the question he was asked. “I have things to do,” the hedgehog mumbled, pausing to observe the change in tone. 

_“Well that’s new… Curious, isn’t it?”_ the voice prompted, and both mobians twitched in response, unaware that they were hearing the same thing. 

Finn didn’t have time to process the subtle curiosity in the hedgehog’s expression and instead focused on justifying his outburst; “I uh, well, don’t leave yet. I’ll get bored, stay for a bit!” 

“Why…?” 

Shadow wasn’t cold per say, he wasn’t even frustrated with the jackal’s jumbled speech: he just couldn’t understand why he was wanted for once. He hesitantly sat back down, but still needed more of an explanation. 

The jackal sighed and continued, trying to brush off the uncomfortable atmosphere as a product of their collective exhaustion.

“Please? Just until Jet or Storm comes back to stay with me, I don’t want to be alone right now.” 

The hedgehog didn’t move to stand up again, but instead shifted his gaze down to stare at his shoes, unaware of what to say. When it was clear Shadow wasn’t going anywhere, Finn quietly thanked him, prompting Shadow to look up. 

“For what?”

“You could have just let me die or handed me off, but you didn’t. I don’t know why you bothered, but I’m grateful. It’s kinda awkward with our past, but it was still nice of you,” Finn said softly. 

He was unsettled by the absence of his mask, as it felt like everyone who looked at him was staring (and from experience they probably were) but this tension felt different. It was vulnerable, but not because of his face this time. 

Shadow sat with the silence for a while, trying to read the jackal’s shifting expressions as he reacted to his own internal dialogue. _It’s almost cute, I wonder if he knows he’s doing it?_ he thought to himself fondly, offering a weak smile before realizing he was supposed to respond. 

“Oh, it wasn’t much really, but you’re welcome. I guess I feel responsible based on our first encounter… sorry about that.” he finally said, ignoring the quiver in his voice as he spoke. 

Finn smiled and closed his eyes, content with the hedgehog’s response, before melting back into his pillow and wiggling into the sheets with a yawn. 

The hedgehog narrowed his eyes in disbelief, “You just woke up from sleeping all day, how are you tired? Stop yawning, it’s not even funny. You’re sick.” 

“Yeah I’m sick _and_ tired... _of your attitude_.” Finn snapped back, opening one eye just to glare at the hedgehog.

Shadow looked away to hide his growing smile, and cleared his throat to mask the laughter that attempted to bubble over his stoic facade. When he didn’t say anything else, Finn took it a step further; “I’m recovering from a hasty chest surgery, let me regain my energy using your stupid alien blood so we can get the hell out of here.” 

Once again, Finn had failed to think before speaking, and found himself stunned by his own harshness. _“This is why you don’t have friends, remember?”_ the voice teased, audible to both mobians, unaware that this statement was directed at both of them. 

Shadow was stunned— _We? There’s a We?!_ he thought, resisting the urge to shake his head. “Fine, then stop mouthing off and get some rest. If you’re sleeping, I’m leaving” he said, quickly getting back up. 

The jackal shot up at the L word in a panic, wincing at the harsh movement but persisting in his urgency nonetheless, “No! You said you’d wait, what if I die in my sleep or something? All that work, just to waste it? Wave would kill you- _no_ , all three of them would.” 

Finn stared at the hedgehog in silence, firm in his statement but twitchy— regardless of how steady he tried to make his voice sound. This behaviour was far too familiar to Shadow, who had finally identified the paranoia beneath the brattiness. 

Sighing, he pushed Finn back down into the cot before sitting on the workstool again, halfheartedly tossing one of his hands beside the jackal’s face. 

“You were a merc, right?”

Finn nodded, watching the hedgehog curiously as Shadow avoided his gaze. 

“So you’re a light sleeper?”

“Yeah, I guess. Sensitive hearing and all that too.” 

“Okay, if my hand moves you’ll wake up, so it’s proof I won’t leave when you fall asleep.” 

Finn resisted the urge to smile at the gesture, and instead nodded quietly to prove that he was listening despite his heavy eyelids. 

The hedgehog looked down in acknowledgement before looking away again, secretly hoping that one of the Rogues would burst in to take on this responsibility; “So that’s that then. I’ll keep my hand here so you know I’m not leaving.”

“Don’t you need to sleep too?” the jackal asked, but was met with no response. Apparently, Shadow had run out of dialogue options and this was all Finn would get for the night. 

“Fine, we’ll talk about communication later… well that’s ironic. G’night.” Finn mumbled before drifting off, once again finishing a chapter by falling asleep. 

Shadow glanced at the sleeping jackal, and after ensuring Finn was fully unconscious, allowed himself to rest his head on his arm, carefully positioning his quills so they wouldn’t touch the sleeping jackal and wake him.

“Goodnight Finn,” he said quietly, before closing his eyes with a smile.

Rouge may have warned him about getting too attached, but the hedgehog knew it was far too late for that. It couldn’t get worse, could it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I changed it up, now Finn AND Shadow are ending a chapter by falling asleep! I realized I have this trope since all my chapters do this basically, so I need to work on that. Upcoming chapter is entirely about Shadow and what he has been up to during Finn's adventures, so stay tuned for that!
> 
> Take care everyone,
> 
> Izzie


	11. Chapter 10: Watch You Sleep, Girl in Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers! I have taken a shorter hiatus as a means to post this bonus chapter since you've all been so kind and supportive of this fanfic! We're nearing the one year anniversary of when I first started writing it, and although we've hardly made progress with the storyline I'm so happy to have found such supportive readers :") Your comments are unlike anything I have ever witnessed on ao3 before and it's honestly one of the only things keeping me going on some days! No pressure, we're all good, but I love hearing how much people are invested in this fanfic.
> 
> So without anymore delay, enjoy a Shadow pov chapter!!!
> 
> A/N: italics are flashback, normal text is present. Sometimes they blend together and that fogginess was intentional, but I'm sorry if it confuses anyone!

Watch You Sleep, Girl in Red (BONUS)

_“I warned you Shadow.”_

_“Rouge, it’s not—“_

_“No, it’s exactly what I said would happen. I told you not to go looking for him, but you still went and got attached,” the bat said, pinching between her eyes in frustration._

_Shadow looked away before sighing in defeat, “Whatever, you don’t get it.”_

_“Don’t get what?”_

Finn shifted in his sleep, prompting the hedgehog to jolt back from the cot, snapping out of his memories. He looked down at the jackal and watched quietly as his eyes twitched in his sleep. 

_“It’s my fault.”_

He couldn’t deny it, Finn was pretty under that mask, even if he was annoying most of the time. When he was awake, he was a brat. Asleep however… Shadow found him adorable. 

_“Shadow… no, we’ve been over this many times with Amy: you don’t control the actions of other people, that’s on them._

Did Finn always have freckles? They were hardly noticeable, but his fur refused to grow over the scar that ran across his eye, revealing the pretty little dots scattered across his skin. If Shadow looked closer, he could see them on the jackal’s nose, too. 

They reminded him of stars, of space, of...

_“No, this isn’t like the ARK incident, it’s my fault that this happened to Finn, to everyone. Hell, the whole war was my fault! Omega being out of commission, not getting to Sonic in time, ‘laying low’ for 6 months instead of helping the resistance or breaking Sonic out? Watching him suffer when I could have—“_

_“Could have what? Infinite voluntarily became Eggman’s lab rat, they planned the attack, they captured and tortured Sonic, and you had responsibilities as an agent to study Infinite’s power from a distance so we’d know what we were up against. None of the war was your fault,” Rouge stated firmly, but the uncertainty was evident in her pained expression. Not because she didn’t believe what she said, no, the bat knew better._

_But Shadow? Shadow didn’t._

He winced at the recollection, and decided to count Finn’s freckles until he calmed down. Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, had he seen that one before? 

How do people even get freckles anyways, and how did Finn get that scar? Isn’t it a shame that he could only admire the jackal’s beauty because of pain? Because of harm? Because someone didn’t care, and split his skin so it couldn’t heal?

If things were different, would they be sitting here together? Would they have met that day at Eggman’s base, the day Shadow prompted a series of unfortunate events, where one small reckless decision took the lives of thousands? 

Are the lives of the many worth sacrificing so he could sit here and count Finn’s freckles? Shadow’s eyes fell to the jackal’s chest. He winced at the bandages. 

_“... I could have prevented it all,” he mumbled, only half hoping that the bat heard him. Did it matter in the end?_

_Rouge did hear, and as predicted, she wasn’t going to let Shadow off easy with beating himself up over this, “How do you know that? Did you check?”_

_The hedgehog was beginning to get frustrated, but managed to look up into her eyes to emphasize that he had made up his mind, and that he was at fault for everything; “No, but my decisions led to it all happening, so if I did things differently it wouldn’t have happened and everything would be fine.”_

_“You don’t know that! Even if you could have prevented the war, you didn’t. That doesn’t mean you compensate for it now by befriending the guy and hiding him from the authorities—“_

_“Like what you did for me? Are you saying you regret helping me?” he interjected. She paused and opened her mouth, but nothing came out._

_Shadow chuckled sadly in defeat, but shrugged off the pounding in his ears as a result of not sleeping for weeks._

_“Ah, I see. If that’s what it is, then. You’re not wrong, just a hypocrite.”_

_“Shadow… that was different.”_

_“How?”_

Finn suddenly grabbed onto the hedgehog’s arm, causing him to shout. Shadow immediately froze, hoping that if he stayed still, the jackal wouldn’t stir anymore. His theory was proven right; but not before Finn snuggled into his forearm, both hands sandwiched around Shadow’s. 

If he woke up, they wouldn’t be able to overcome the embarrassment, and even without the jackal being conscious it still felt humiliating. Hopefully the Rogues would ignore Shadow’s yelling— the last thing he wanted was a witness to whatever this was. 

Looking back at Finn, the hedgehog noticed small bumps on his ears. Being extremely careful, Shadow placed his free hand behind one of them and examined closer. 

He had his ears pierced? That wasn’t unusual for mobians, he just found it odd that Finn had the holes but didn’t use them. Shadow tried to not let it bother him, but he couldn’t help but feel jealous. 

Maria tried piercing his ears back on the ARK, but his healing powers kept closing the holes over the earrings— the Professor was not pleased, and when it came time to extracting them, Shadow wasn’t too pleased either. 

The hedgehog was almost disappointed now: what other things did they have in common? Did Finn have any siblings? What was his trauma— surely it wasn’t just their encounter, what made him choose to be a mercenary?

Shadow realized that he was now responsible for another version of himself, and it felt like the universe was punishing him for his identity crisis. Was there anything they didn’t have in common?

_“You were misguided and had just regained consciousness after a traumatic incident, not to mention your memories were warped. It’s not fair to compare you to each other,” Rouge said defensively, regaining her momentum._

_Shadow may be difficult, but Rouge wasn’t his closest companion for nothing— the bat had a way with words that oftentimes got through to him. Not always, but there was a chance he’d listen. A small one. Maybe bordering nonexistent, but it’s better than nothing._

_“I tried to murder the planet on multiple occasions, and created a time paradox because of a stupid identity crisis. Rouge, cut the crap. You’re a hypocrite and you know it.”_

The Black Arms Paradox… Shadow sighed, brushing some stray hairs from the jackal’s face, smiling when his nose twitched. 

Finn created Null Space, but would he have gone as far as Shadow? Would he have written over his own timeline just to see what would happen? To see if it would fix him? Fill the void?

Would he have asked Shadow to save him if he knew the truth of who he was? 

_“I am not a hypocrite! I had seen enough of that guy to know he isn’t trustworthy, and definitely not redeemable,” she responded exasperatedly._

_Shadow chuckled, and let it slowly bleed into laughter— not the kind you’d want to hear from the hedgehog, and Rouge’s wavering expression was proof that this was headed in a bad direction._

_“You don’t know him. None of us do, and it’s my job to do that now. Do you really think G.U.N. knows the first thing about getting answers out of people? He’s weak, and now he’s under my control. You don’t need to worry about my safety, but you might need to worry about his. If he tries anything, he’s dead,” the hedgehog explained through detached giggles and watery eyes._

_“And you’re sure you can kill him if he’s your friend?”_

Could he kill Finn? Maybe, he almost did before. Shadow never had a problem with overpowering the jackal, especially in his current state. 

He took note of the blankets on the cot, and began thinking of how useful they could be; they could mop up blood, carry the body without a mess, smother him, strangle him… endless possibilities. The hedgehog could end it all right now, but what purpose would that hold? 

It wasn’t a matter of if he could, Rouge was questioning if he _would_ : If he would be able to look at the mobian he saved and take it all back. 

Flinching and repressing the thoughts, he continued to play with the jackal’s hair as a means to distract himself, twirling the loose strands that separated from his locs between his fingers. When Shadow eventually stopped, Finn seemed to notice the absence of affection and pressed into the hedgehog’s hand. 

What was he supposed to do, hold his face? Praying that this wouldn’t backfire, the hedgehog let Finn melt into his hand and began lightly scratching his jaw. 

Was… was he purring? And why was Shadow enjoying this just as much? 

_“I’m his second and last chance, if he blows it with me he isn’t going into custody. He’s going straight to hell,” Shadow stated triumphantly._

_Rouge didn’t believe him, but didn’t feel like discussing the matter further; “Mhm, right. What do I tell everyone?”_

_“I’m on a G.U.N. mission, don’t elaborate.”_

_“Okay, what do I tell G.U.N?”_

_“Mental health break or some crap, vacation? I don’t know, whatever you usually tell them when I go M.I.A.”_

Shadow rested his chin on the edge of the bed, eyes fixated on Finn and his shifting facial expressions. He was charismatic even in his sleep, theatrical without even trying. The hedgehog watched in amazement, trying to decipher what Finn was dreaming about based on the faces he was making. 

He could watch the jackal for hours, and he would. 

Shadow was starting to feel the effects of sleep deprivation, but he refused to let his eyes close. No, this was a rare chance to be around Finn without the tension; it was safe. He needed this. Them being here together reminded him of Maria oddly enough, when the Professor let them have sleepovers in her room on the days she wasn’t able to get out of bed. 

Her favourite colour was blue, and it quickly became his favourite as well due to how much of it he saw around her. By association, the colour made him happy. Then it made him sad, sometimes angry. Most times, it just made him aware of his loneliness. 

Shadow recalled the unusual sensation he felt when meeting Sonic for the first time, of seeing someone who looked like him, acted like how he used to, and had all the hope and motivation that Shadow had lost… but in blue. Her colour. Reminding him of who he used to be before he fucked it all up. Speaking of the blue hedgehog though...

_“What about Sonic? He deserves the truth,” Rouge asked, softer in tone this time._

_“No, I’ll tell him myself when I’m able to. For now, tell him the same as everyone else.”_

_“But—“_

_“No Rouge, absolutely not. I can’t be there for them at the same time, but I’ll figure something out. I promise.”_

The sun was starting to rise, and Shadow noticed the jackal stir in his sleep, as if the hardly noticeable change in light was enough to wake him. This probably meant he was an early riser, which the hedgehog found ironic considering how much Finn slept.

That being said, neither of them had slept for months, but not because they didn’t need to: Finn forgot, and Shadow _couldn’t_ forget. What would it be, sleep paralysis or the fear of amnesia? Trick question, the answer was both.

Still, it wasn’t like he would socialize much if he slept, considering the two closest people in his life (that were alive) were Omega and Rouge, and neither were the pinnacle of resting. 

A part of Shadow hoped that the jackal would be the same way, but he knew better than to incorporate Finn into his friend group. He hurt Omega and Rouge was fed up with the jackal when working undercover alongside him, so it was pointless to imagine them in the same room if it wasn’t also on fire. Omega… 

_“This is a bad idea, and you know it. Omega is going to kill you when he finds out.”_ Rouge had warned him the other day, but of course the hedgehog didn’t keep his stupid mouth shut.

_“Who said he’s finding anything out?”_ he had told her.

_The bat narrowed her eyes, and began backing Shadow into a corner, which he was not taking kindly to; “H_ e’s _family, he has just as much of a right to know where you are and what you’re doing. Think about how hurt he’d be from you lying to him, especially about the person who decommissioned him under the command of Robotnik, his sworn enemy!”_

_“He’s a robot, Rouge. He doesn’t have feelings, we can just erase it from his memory and leave him out of it. Wave is going to kill me if I send Omega and Finn back to her in shambles and expect her to fix them again, but I’ll just forward her wrath to you as well as the expense list— I’m sure the Rogues will adore your gem collection,” Shadow teased, the smirk on his face unwavering._

_Rouge snarled at the comment but fixated on the first half, much to the hedgehog’s surprise; “We do NOT joke about memory loss in this group, that’s a sensitive topic for all of us and I don’t appreciate the attitude, Shadow.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _He snickered, “Sorry, I forgot.”_ _  
  
_

_“Shadow—“_

_“How are you going to justify blacklisting Finn but not Omega? He’s a robot who is incapable of compassion, whereas Finn is a mystery! We have no clue who he is, he could be harmless,” Shadow retorted, ears flat to his head. The claustrophobia was getting to him, but thankfully Rouge noticed and began to back off._

Even during arguments, the bat was always cautious of Shadow’s triggers, which was something he should have reciprocated. But of course he didn’t, because he was insensitive by nature and felt the need to decimate every disagreement to prove himself right, even at the cost of friendship. 

You know, purposely pushing people away to avoid the ordeal of being known. 

_“Stop it Shadow, I know you don’t mean any of this, so stop before you say something you can’t take back,” Rouge reasoned, but it was too late for that._

_The hedgehog took that as a personal challenge, “Oh really? What could I possibly say about you that could hurt you, I don’t know, maybe the fact the three closest people in your life are emotionally detached men? You’re just jealous that I’m replacing you, get your daddy issues out of my business—“ he began to tease before being slapped into silence by the equally stunned bat._

_The two stared at each other intensely, Shadow immediately regretting the whole ordeal and Rouge panicking and recoiling in horror._

_“Oh my god… Shadow. I am, I didn’t mean to say that… I-I’m so sorry hon I didntmeanto—” she started before cutting herself off, voice cracking._

_Shadow shrugged and turned away, crossing his arms and pressing his elbows into his ribcage, which still ached from the removal process. They had grown back, just barely._

Finn sensed the distress and made an uncomfortable noise, holding Shadow’s arm closer and tighter than before.This snapped the hedgehog out of his flashback, causing him to cringe at the taste of metal in his mouth. He had unknowingly been chewing the inside of his mouth the whole time, and forced his jaw to unclench before resting back down to look at Finn. 

The jackal’s tail flopped over their bodies like a blanket, the slightly tangled white strands long enough to reach over Shadow’s back. He was twisted and uncomfortable since he wasn’t properly laying down beside Finn, but their close proximity was out of his control at this point. 

If he pulled away, Finn would wake up, and that would ruin this out of character hurt/comfort moment. 

_“S’fine Rouge, I died once. That was a little worse than being slapped by you,” he eventually said, trying to reassure the bat who was on the verge of tears. If she cried, Shadow would cry, because that was a clear sign something was wrong. Rouge never cried. Ever._

_She shook her head, and all potential vulnerability was shed with the motion; “Hitting someone is never okay, that was uncalled for. Come here, I’m sorry Shadow. I am. Can I touch you?”_

_He nodded cautiously after thinking about it for a moment. Even though she always asked, Shadow had to remind himself not to respond on autopilot and say yes out of habit. One of the gifts of being Rouge’s friend, no, family, was that she knew what boundaries were. And she respected them._

_Maybe that was enough to break him._

_Rouge opened her arms and began to carefully approach the hedgehog before he launched into her arms, immediately melting into the gesture. Shadow began mumble ranting, and she instinctively began petting his quills, shifting them to sit down on her couch with the hedgehog still broken in her arms._

_“I didn’t mean he’s just a robot, I’m sorry and I didn’t mean that about you— that was uncalled for I just, I need him to have another chance before we say he’s bad because that’s what everyone did to me except you so I just thought that you would be okay with it but I understand that’s a lot to ask so you can tell whoever you want or stop me from going I’m sorry I—” he had started, but was quickly shushed, giving him time to catch his breath and let out all the pent up feelings about the war that he had been holding in for months now._

_Rouge began quietly humming a tune he recognized, which made Shadow both nostalgic and satisfied. He wanted to sing along, but couldn’t without ruining the melody with choked sobs, so he just closed his eyes and held onto his friend for dear life._

_“I know honey, it’s okay. I won’t tell Omega, or Sonic, or Knuckles. I understand your frustrations, and I shouldn’t take this information for granted because I know how hard it is for you to open up like this, so I’m sorry for not acknowledging what this means to you and why it means as much as it does. I’m also sorry for being so hard on… Finn. This will stay between us until you’re ready.”_

_Shadow pulled back from the hug to look at the bat curiously, blinking the last tear out of his eye before resetting to his more neutral state; “Not even Knuckles…?”_

_Rouge laughed at the hedgehog’s moment of genuine shock, cupping his face and using her thumbs to wipe his eyes, ignoring the runny eyeliner that stained her white gloves._

_“Not even Knuckles, I promise. He’d lose his shit and tell everyone, so if you’re not gonna be here to back me up I better not. That, and I respect your wishes to keep Finn a secret.”_

Shadow smiled sadly at the jackal. If only he knew what the hedgehog went through on an emotional level just to keep his identity safe. It’s better that he never finds out. 

Finn must have sensed the focus on him and began giggling quietly in his sleep; for a brief moment Shadow panicked thinking that this intimacy was a set up, and that the jackal had been playing him a fool this whole time. When he settled and curled in on himself more though, the hedgehog relaxed again: who knew jackals were so expressive and empathic in their sleep?

_“You shouldn’t keep secrets in a relationship just because of me though, I understand that much. Still, if you want me to be there when all hell breaks loose, I’ll be there. I’m responsible for this whole Finn problem on all sides of the war, so you have nothing to worry about there,” he said, which made Rouge smile._

_“I’m so proud of you and how far you’ve come, Shadow. You’re doing the right thing, I think. Maybe not for the right reasons, but I guess it’s not up to us to be perfect. You do whatever you think is right, and I’ll do my best to support you,” she encouraged, which made the hedgehog look away in embarrassment._

_Shadow was never good at compliments, so he simply buried his face back in Rouge’s neck, “You’d be a hypocrite if you didn’t,” he teased._

_She laughed at the remark and wrapped her arms around Shadow, snuggling into the embrace. They rarely had touchy moments like this since it tended to overload both of them with sensory issues, but in the rare instances they needed the physical affection they exploited it until the sappiness wore off and it was back to business._

_“I don’t care about being a hypocrite Shadow, I care about you.”_

The hedgehog wondered if Finn had the same touch problem he did, or if he was worse or better at it. Was the reason he hid his face a result of… no, hopefully not. Shadow found himself wondering why this even mattered in the first place, since it wasn’t like a conscious Finn would be eager to hug him: the hedgehog wasn’t exactly a warm or inviting person, especially to him.

Shadow sighed and pushed the thoughts away before trying to untangle himself from Finn’s grasp. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, he looks pretty comfortable,” a voice whisper-shouted from across the workshop with a giggle, and it took all of Shadow’s efforts not to jump into defense mode and confront the person. 

After enough wiggling and risky tugging, the hedgehog managed to properly sit back again, glancing over at Jet who was approaching Shadow with a smirk. 

“D’awe, you’ve gone soft on him.”

“He had a rough day and was already being clingy as hell, it’s the least I could do to assure he stays asleep.”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself, I know you wanted that just as bad or you’d ignore him, Shadow,” the hawk teased, sitting down on the nearby folding chair to watch Finn with utter admiration in his eyes. Why did it make Shadow so unnerved?

“I’m not going soft on him, and even if I was it wouldn’t matter. If you try to tell anyone, they’d never believe you,” the hedgehog huffed, crossing his arms smugly. Jet snickered at the response, but was clearly more focused on Finn than Shadow’s threat. 

Shadow usually didn’t find the bird this annoying, but maybe it was the lack of sleep that made everything he did so irritating.

Jet never knew how to take a social cue, and decided to continue the conversation in spite of the sleeping jackal who could wake at any minute from the squawk-whispering; “To be fair, most people don’t know how cute he is because he was too busy being a war criminal. Seeing him relaxed and without his mask is probably the best reward right now, he has no business being that attractive.”

“Simp,” Shadow mumbled, but couldn’t resist looking at Finn again, just to acknowledge what Jet was admiring. 

The hawk snickered, “Jealous much? You’re one to talk, Mister let-me-lay-beside-him-and-stare-at-his-face-for-hours.”

Shadow paled, “ Was it that long…? Wait, how do you even know that?” he snapped back defensively, brow furrowed. 

“Cameras bud, the only thing keeping me from zoning out when flying this ship,” Jet explained with a wink, baffled when the hedgehog didn’t laugh at his spunky response.

“What?”  
  


“If you’re here, who the hell is flying us right now?” Shadow asked, narrowing his eyes in disbelief. The bird laughed nervously and began scratching the back of his neck, “Oops, we do have autopilot though so it can’t be too bad! Normally Storm does all the flying and Wave programmed the thing, so I doubt me being there is that important.”

After a prolonged staredown and silent treatment from the hedgehog, Jet got back up and sighed, shaking his head, “Fine, I’ll go back if it calms you down: I know you just want to get all cuddly with Finn again. Suit yourself! Just don’t like, fall in love with him or something.”

Shadow glared, “Leave. This has nothing to do with me and Finn, I just think someone should be flying the ship at all times in case something goes wrong, it’s not my fault Storm isn’t doing his job.”

“He’s been worried about Finn and hasn’t been sleeping, cut the guy some slack okay? I can handle his work for now, it’s about time I stopped ordering everyone around and did some stuff myself anyways,” Jet exclaimed, headed towards the door. 

Oh, well that was oddly sweet and out of character for the bird… Shadow almost felt bad for being so dismissive.

“That’s… nice of you. Storm doesn’t need to worry anymore though, none of us do. He’s gonna be okay,” he reassured, which made Jet smile as he started to leave.

“I’ll be sure to send the message along, but for now I’ll just leave you two lovebirds alone!” he called back on his way out. 

Once again, Shadow _almost_ felt bad. 

“I’m not a bird, he’s not a bird. _You’re_ a bird, and you’re about to be a dead bird if you keep that up!” he threatened, but Jet was already gone.

Finn grabbed back onto the hedgehog’s arm and he immediately relaxed again, chuckling as he did so.

“Ah shit. I’m definitely too attached to you, Jet was right… just don’t let him know I said that. I hope you don’t hear this, but I don’t think I can be mad at you anymore, Finn. I just hope you don’t use that against me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there we have it folks! Shadow is in love, but give him a few chapters to realize it, because he isn't exactly the most self aware person. I promise we are getting off the Rogue's ship next chapter and as much as I'm sad to see them go (for now) I think we really need a change in scenery!
> 
> Wishing you all the best,
> 
> Izzie <3


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